Award-winning actor Neal McDonough said he was “crucified,” “fired,” and “lost basically everything” ten years ago because he refuses to do sex or kissing scenes.
Now he’s “focused on creating faith-based projects that align with his family values,” according to an interview this week with the Christian Post:
McDonough, the host of the upcoming Christmas special “Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir,” premiering on BYUtv and PBS starting Dec. 13, says the special will honor both his faith and Irish flair as Tony Award-nominee Megan Hilty (“Wicked”) and the choir perform several holiday favorites.
In a video interview with The Christian Post, McDonough revealed that his display of Christian faith won’t end with this Christmas special. He and his wife of almost 20 years, Ruve, have started their own film company, McDonough Company, that will reflect their strong values. As a devout Catholic, McDonough said representing his faith is “the only thing” that he knows.
Next month McDonough stars in Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist, a Fathom Events film starring and directed by Kevin Sorbo.
McDonough has starred in and executive produced the faith-based films Greater (2016) and Boon (2022).
During an appearance on the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum last year, McDonough said he was fired from the TV show Scoundrels in 2010 after he refused to participate in a sex scene. I “lost basically everything,” he added.
“I won’t do kissing scenes,” he explained. “I’ve never wanted to do it, and you know, I got crucified about ten years ago where they thought I was this religious zealot that I wouldn’t do sex scenes. It was really because I love my wife more than I love my craft, and people couldn’t understand that.”
This came after McDonough had already appeared and established himself in dozens of movies and television shows, including Minority Report, Flags of Our Fathers, Band of Brothers, Desperate Housewives…
McDonough told Fox News that on top of sex and kissing scenes, he won’t take a role where he would have to say the Lord’s name in vain.
“I won’t mention the Lord’s name in vain, and then I won’t kiss another woman,” he said. “Sex scenes aren’t in it for me. And I think, gosh, there’s enough sex scenes out there and me being in my fifties I’m not sure if anyone wants to see me doing that stuff anyway, but it’s a comfort level.”
He added, “I guess that’s probably why I play so many villainous characters, because I love acting, and I’m really good at it. It’s a God-given talent, so for me to have a career, I have to figure out creatively and smartly and wisely how I can keep doing what I do.”
The 56-year-old actor says that what rejuvenated his career was his season on the excellent FX series Justified, where he played a villain. “I had to become the best bad guy because I had to provide for my five kids and a beautiful wife.” He adds that while filming those 13 episodes, he fell “in love with acting again.”
He was outstanding in that role, a standout in a series with a whole lot of terrific performances.
You would think in this #MeToo environment, McDonough’s approach to such things would be appreciated. But #MeToo is about punishment and control, not restraint and decency. To too much of Hollywood, McDonough is not seen as a decent man, but a freak, a Christiantard…
This is how you are supposed to live your life. Your wife comes first. Your spouse comes first. The foundation of the sacrament of marriage is your whole life, and if you take care of it, your life will be blessed until death do you part.
The spouse comes before not only the career but also the kids. That might sound counter-intuitive, but what could be better for the kids than living in a household with parents who have a strong marriage?
The road to Utopia is not do-gooderism or government intervention or social justice, or whatever… It’s everyone taking care of their own. Stop worrying about the other guy. Worry about yourself and your own. Stop ignoring your family in some narcissistic crusade to save the world. If we all did that, if we all focused on and took care of our own, the world would be a beautiful place.
And remember this… If things are good at home, you can always go home. Even if the job sucks and the world is beating you down, you always have a refuge at home.
But if things are bad at home, nothing’s good. Nothing feels right, not even a movie star career.
Happy wife, happy life.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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