In an interview on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast (exclusively shared by TMZ), seasoned character actor Neal McDonough, who has starred in films ranging from Band of Brothers to Desperate Housewives, Minority Report, American Horror Story, Suits, and more, disclosed that Hollywood rejected him because he wouldn’t kiss other actors on screen.
Since 2003, McDonough and Ruv Robertson have been wed. Together, the couple has five kids.
McDonough stated, “I’d always had in my contracts that I wouldn’t kiss another woman on-screen.”
It didn’t bother my wife in the least. Really, I was the one who found it problematic. Hollywood simply turned against me when I was unable to achieve it and they were unable to comprehend it. I was no longer permitted to participate in the performance.
“I lost everything you can imagine and I couldn’t find a job for two years,” McDonough continued.
Not just homes and possessions, but your confidence, your style, your identity, and everything else. I was an actor, and a very good one at that. And you’re kind of in a spiral once you lose that identity.
Acting since 1990, McDonough most recently starred in the drama film The Last Rodeo from Angel Studios, in which he played a former world bull-riding champion who returns to the rodeo later in life to earn money for surgery on his grandson’s brain tumor.
Despite having a production budget of about $8 million, the movie made $15 million when it debuted in theaters in late May.
McDonough’s work on television has gained him additional recognition in recent years.
He played Sergeant Ty O. Brien in seven episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star and Malcolm Beck in six episodes of Yellowstone. In the second season of Tulsa King, which is available to stream on Paramount+, he reteamed with Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone, for a series regular role alongside Sylvester Stallone.
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