Veteran character actor Neal McDonough has revealed he was blacklisted from Hollywood for two years after refusing to kiss other actors on screen out of loyalty to his wife, losing “everything you could possibly imagine” including his homes, identity and confidence.
The 58-year-old star of “Band of Brothers,” “Yellowstone,” and “Tulsa King” made the revelation during an exclusive interview on the “Nothing Left Unsaid” podcast shared by TMZ on Wednesday, explaining how his personal boundaries led to professional devastation.
“I’d always had in my contracts I wouldn’t kiss another woman on-screen,” McDonough said. “My wife didn’t have any problem with it. It was me, really, who had a problem with it. When I couldn’t do it, and they couldn’t understand it, Hollywood just completely turned on me. They wouldn’t let me be part of the show anymore.”
The actor, who has been married to South African model Ruvé Robertson since 2003 and shares five children with her, described the profound impact of the industry blacklist that began in 2010 when he was fired from ABC’s “Scoundrels” just three days into filming for refusing romantic scenes.
“For two years, I couldn’t get a job and I lost everything you could possibly imagine,” McDonough revealed. “Not just houses and material things, but your swagger, your cool, who you are, your identity—everything. My identity was an actor, and a really good one. And once you don’t have that identity, you’re kind of lost in a tailspin.”
The devout Catholic admitted developing “a big drinking problem” during this period as he struggled to cope with the professional rejection. His stance reportedly cost him approximately £790,000 ($1 million) from the “Scoundrels” role alone, according to industry reports.
McDonough’s no-kissing clause wasn’t new when the controversy erupted. From 2008 to 2009, he successfully played Nicolette Sheridan’s husband on “Desperate Housewives” after the show’s creator Marc Cherry agreed to work around his boundaries. “When Marc Cherry signed me, I told him, ‘You probably already know this, but I won’t kiss anyone,'” McDonough recalled. “He waited for a few seconds and then responded, ‘Okay, I’ll just have to write better.'”
However, not all producers proved as accommodating. Following his dismissal from “Scoundrels,” McDonough found himself ostracised by an industry that viewed him as “this crazy religious guy.” The actor recalled a particularly dark moment: “I remember falling to my knees and saying, ‘God, why have you forgotten about me? Why am I being punished so much?’ And as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I realised what self-absorbed questions those were.”
His salvation came through screenwriter Graham Yost, with whom he’d worked on “Band of Brothers.” Yost offered him a villain role in “Justified,” which McDonough parlayed into a season-long arc. “After ‘Justified,’ everything was kind of forgotten,” he said. “I was determined to give a really great performance and I did.”
Throughout his 30-year career, McDonough has maintained his stance, telling Fox News in 2020: “I won’t mention the Lord’s name in vain, and then I won’t kiss another woman. Sex scenes aren’t in it for me.” He explained these lips were “meant for one woman” only.
The actor’s comeback has been remarkable. He appeared in six episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s hit series “Yellowstone” as Malcolm Beck and seven episodes of “9-1-1: Lone Star” as Sergeant Ty O’Brien. He currently stars alongside Sylvester Stallone in the second season of “Tulsa King” on Paramount+.
In a significant development, McDonough recently broke his no-kissing rule for the first time—but only because his wife Ruvé played his on-screen spouse in Angel Studios’ “The Last Rodeo.” The faith-based Western, which opened in late May, grossed £11.8 million ($15 million) against a £6.3 million ($8 million) production budget.
“There I am, wearing the hero hat, being directed by my favourite director of all time, Jon Avnet, kissing my wife in a movie, finally doing it the way I’ve always wanted to do it. It’s the greatest feeling,” McDonough told Fox News about the milestone moment.
The film’s success, earning a 69% critics’ score and 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has validated McDonough’s patient approach. He and Ruvé have now launched their own production company to create projects that align with their values.
Reflecting on his journey, McDonough maintains no regrets about his stance. “I realised that perhaps I was taking some of my acting for granted,” he said. “God has given me so much. We all experience challenges in our lives.” His story serves as a testament to maintaining personal convictions in an industry often demanding compromise.
Follow for more updates on Britannia Daily
Image Credit:
This is a licensed photograph:
- Neal McDonough (cropped) – English description: Neal McDonough (31197145535) (cropped), originally by Heroes & Villains, taken on 20 November 2016, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution‑ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY‑SA 2.0)
