HOW NEAL MCDONOUGH HAD SUFFERED IN THE INDUSTRY AFTER HE REFUSED TO BE UNFAITHFUL ON SCREEN
In his big career, Neal McDonough, had some ups and downs with Hollywood. McDonough had lost some things in his Hollywood journey, just because he was standing up for his faith.
McDonough was raised in the Christian family house in Boston, Massachusetts. He had five siblings. McDonough family had immigrated to the States when it was 1947, from Ireland.
When McDonough had talked about his childhood, and the problems he faced, he stated, “My 10-year-old self, my 11-year-old self, I remember, was kind of a mess. I had dyslexia. I had a speech impediment. I was kind of chunky. And that’s all that I really had.”
Until he had acted in his highschool musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” he had no idea what to do with his life, and he was struggling. But after he played Snoopy in the musical, he had an aim for himself. He wanted to be an actor.
With “Band of Brothers,” McDonough had started to climb the ladder to success and fame. As he was a faithful man, he believed that through his faith, anything was possible, and that gave McDonough a confidence, which he needed for his career.
As he made his name in the industry, he was fired in 2010, from the ABC series, “Scoundrels,” where he refused to take part in a sex scene in the show.
Even though the series had only one season, his refusal to be in a sex scene put him in a black list in the industry, which affected him financially.
McDonough stated, “There was a time when I wasn’t working. I couldn’t get a job because people thought I was this crazy religious guy. But that wasn’t the case. I love my wife, but I love my acting too.”
It was not the first time McDonough had showed his faith, where he was working in the iconic show, “Desperate Housewives,” between 2008 and 2009. He was acting along with his on-screen wife, Nicolette Sheridan and other co-stars, Vanessa Williams, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Brian Austin Green.
McDonough had a no kissing rule, which the creator of the show Marc Cherry was forced to make some arrangements for the show. McDonough stated, “I won’t kiss any other woman because these lips are meant for one woman.”
It was hard for McDonough to work with his faithful rules, after he was fired from the “Scoundrels,” which led him to a blacklist in Hollywood. He was having problems with his career, where he was not taking jobs.
In one of his interviews, McDonough had stated that the things he lived through after he stayed true to his faith, were “incredibly painful.”
“[…] I didn’t work for two years. I lost everything: house, cars, this, that. It was one of the most brutal times in my life for sure.”
That events led him to a drinking problem, and as he was in one of his alcoholic state, he asked to God that why he was forsaken. As he was crying for his bad fortune, he received an offer from “Justified,” to play the villain, in 2012.
As he quickly held himself together, McDonough stated, “I came out of it on the other side. I’ve been working so much in the last several years, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
In his recent interview, he talked about the new project he is appearing in, “The Shift.” McDonough is playing the Benefactor, Lucifer in the show. The show was taken from the Book of Job, and it is a faith-based movie. The Angel Studios are producing the movie.
As he is giving life to the devil as his role in the movie, McDonough had stated that the role had changed his life, and he is now thinking from a different perspective, and had improved his acting skills while playing his role.
In the movie, a man, Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) meets the devil, Lucifer (McDonough) and the devil challanged the man with trials while Kevin is trying to return back to his life.
As he received his career back, as he was in the black list for two years, he had fought with his drinking problems, and he is now sober for eight years. McDonough stated, “I couldn’t be happier. I’m blessed. I got a woman who adores me, and I adore her. And she forgives me for my failures and builds me to be a better man than I could ever be every single day.”
20 years ago, he met with his wife, movie producer, Ruve McDonough, in England. He fell in love with her with the first sight. He was sure that she was the woman he would be married to.
The couple married in 2003, and for two decades, they are going strong. They had five children together. And when the couple were asked that if any of their children is interested with acting, they stated that their 13-year-old daughter, London has an interest towards her father’s job.
As for their other children, the couple had stated that they are attending sports in their schools, and has great grades. For his family, McDonough had stated, “It’s pretty remarkable.”
As he is a faithful man, McDonough had stated that he instilled his children with good values, and love for God. He stated that his wife, Ruve, is also a faithful Christian, and for that reason, they are putting their Faith in everything, and before everything.
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