Comedic actor Will Ferrell drew inspiration from the former hit MTV series Punk'd, a show in which host Ashton Kutcher orchestrated pranks on random celebrities, to carry out a recent prank of his own.

During Tuesday night' Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns basketball game in LA, Ferrell donned a red coat, stood courtside in the Staples Center and pretending to be a security guard. Ferrell then walked up to former Laker Shaquille O'Neal, who was watching the game from his courtside seat, and pretended to eject him from the arena.

Standing at 7-foot-1 and weighing 325 pounds, the former Laker center was a towering presence over the comedian but Ferrell kept a totally straight face as he approached O'Neal.

O'Neal must have been taken back by Ferrell's thick mustache, or he was in on the prank, because he immediately placed both of his hands behind his back and pretended to be handcuffed. O'Neal then has a depressed expression on his face as he looked down and eventually walked out of the game.

Watch the video here and see how everything actually played out.

As a first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, O'Neal quickly became one of the top centers in the league, spending the majority of his professional ball-playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is now a sports commentator on Inside the NBA.

Ferrell developed his acting chops first as a cast member of Saturday Night Live then eventually becoming a box-office favorite from such movies as Old School, Step Brothers and The Other Guys.

The moment at the Staples Center was both strange and amusing, and the Lakers went on to defeat the Suns 91-85.

Tags: Will Ferrell Shaquille O'Neal