BIG man on campus

O’Neal, in short, is a man with plenty to preoccupy him and who doesn’t need to seek stardom anymore. He simply enters a scene and the galaxy finds him. He has more than 3 million followers on Twitter, has made it a cause to help police pursue Internet sex predators, aspires to run for sheriff one day, and mused yesterday about taking courses at Harvard Law.

And yet there seems a kind of humility, or at least of regal patience, about him. He said he still remembers when all this celebrity madness was a novelty. And he has seen other stars get devoured by getting too caught up in it.

“It’s part of the life we live,’’ O’Neal said. “We get a lot of good and we get a lot of bad with it. You have to accept it. Those that accept it can navigate society a little bit better. I’ve accepted since 17. You say, ‘Here, we’re going to put your name in the paper.’ It actually humbled me. Me? I’m in the paper? You want my autograph? I’m happy when people ask for my autograph. If it ever gets to the point where I don’t want to do it, I’ll just stay in the house.’’

This side of O’Neal was also on display at Mr. Bartley’s, where the line was too long to eat inside and linger over the burger they have named for him. So he settled into a bench to wait for a simple cheeseburger.

No celebrity rush to the front of the line for Boston’s biggest man on campus.

“Not going to use my superpowers today,’’ Shaquille O’Neal smiled.

Shira Springer can be reached at springer@globe.com.