5 things about Catholic actor Neal McDonough that helped him conquer Hollywood

Working in the entertainment world has always seemed a discouraging perspective, especially in the light of the recent #Metoo Movement, which has led some Hollywood producers to jail. Most of the content is impregnated with temptations of all kinds, vices disguised as virtues and a glamour That makes greed seems good.

But Neal McDonough is one of several Catholic actors that challenge this trend. He grew up as Irish Catholic on the coast of Cape Cod and stands firm in his faith and loyalty to his family.

Known for films like Minority Report and television series like Yellowstone, Boomtown y Band of BrothersHe is a talented actor who has forged his own way in an industry known to break spirits and values.

Here are five things that you should know about this Catholic actor.

1. He married the love of his life and have five beautiful children

Married in 2003, McDonough and Ruvé Robertson, a South African model, met while he filmed Band of Brothers In the United Kingdom.

Speaking about the first time he met his wife in The Adam Carolla Show, the actor described the moment:

“I looked at her once and that was all. I knew I was destined to be for the rest of my life, and I couldn’t be happier.”

“I had to work to achieve it – it was not easy,” he added.

In December 2024, to celebrate its anniversary, McDonough resorted to social networks to share their love story:

“We have just celebrated 21 years of marriage to my best friend, my accomplice, the mother of my five children and the only person with whom I want to wake up every morning and sleep every night.”

“Thank you, I ruled, for helping me to be the man I am today! I have always said: ‘I can conquer the world with a hand tied behind my back … as long as you hold the other!'”

His children Morgan, Catherine, London, Clover and James travel with their parents in certain projects, and the eldest daughter, Catherine, has modeled with her mother for a clothing brand.

2. McDonough has refused to kiss another woman on screen

This month, the actor was in the podcast Nothing Left Unsaid, where he talked about his own principles regarding any role he accepts.

Since 2001, “I have always put in my contracts that would not kiss another woman on the screen. My wife was not bothered. Actually, it was I who had the problem,” McDonough shared with the presenters. “I thought: ‘I don’t want to make you go through that. I know we’re going to start having children and I don’t want my children to go through it.”

Recently they circulated holders that Hollywood had put McDonough on the blacklist; And last week, he and his wife deepened the subject, saying that it was a disguised blessing.

Ruvé spoke during an interview with TMZ last Thursday: “We mean, thanks, Hollywood. I don’t like how people say Hollywood turned their backs on Neal. No, it wasn’t, it wasn’t.

“Intimacy is something completely different for me. When I didn’t want to do it and couldn’t understand it, Hollywood simply turned my back,” Neal explained. “They did not allow me to continue in the program (Desperate Housewives). And for two years, I couldn’t get a job and lost everything you can imagine. Not only houses and material things, but your security, your charisma, who you are, your identity, everything. ”

“My identity was to be an actor, and a very good one; and when you no longer have that identity, you enter a kind of spiral. And I was in a great and ugly spiral for a couple of years,” he admitted.

Let’s advance until today: the actor has just produced, producing and starring in his own film, The Last Rodeowho also had his wife as the protagonist. They believe that the past only prepared the stage for a brighter future.

“If it hadn’t been for that, we wouldn’t be here. They were steps, and that made our relationship closer.”

In addition, the actor finally kissed someone on the screen: his wife!

3. In 2022, the actor founded his own film producer called McDonough Co.

Working as a team, the marriage headed its first production called Brass & Unity: One Woman’s Journey Through the Hell of Afghanistan and Back. Described as an “inspiring memory of the combat veteran Kelsi Sheren”, the story follows “a woman who witnessed the worst of the war in Afghanistan, faced the demons of posttraumatic stress and fought for her life to become stronger than ever.”

Together they have worked in several films, including Boon (2022), The Warrant: Breaker’s Law (2023) y Homestead (2024).

4. He has played Jesus and the devil in some works, and his roles as a villain have influenced his conscience with respect to confession

Although the actor has lent his voice to play Jesus in The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Biblewhich is a recording of the Catholic edition of the Bible, has also played Satan.

Working with Faith Angel Studios, McDonough played a character known as the “benefactor” in The Shifta film based freely on the history of Job.

Interpreting the role of the villain, he said, led him to examine himself as a person.

“It’s curious, when I have interpreted villain roles, I realize how blessed I am because you have to go to certain places in your mind and, as a method actor I am, deepen and find things, sometimes things that do not like yourself, and you have to fix those things,” he told Our Sunday Visitor.

“But doing this psychoanalysis of myself while I interpret certain characters only makes me a stronger person, a major believer, and makes life much easier knowing that people can say or do what they want with me, I know the truth of situations, and I know that he is always there for me and for all those who believe in him.”

5. The Catholic actor uses social networks to share his faith and motivate others to seek God in the agitated days of life

This week, McDonough wrote on social networks the following:

“Someone woke up praying for a sign that God still sees it. This is. He sees you. He loves you. Your story is not over. Don’t give up.”

From simple statements of faith as “Christ is king” to messages of encouragement about keeping the look at what matters most, this father of five children is a brilliant example in the entertainment industry. And challenges us all to take a page of their book.

“You were not made to fit. You were called to highlight, to lead, to love, to shine. God did not put you here by accident. Every scar, every setback, every gift you carry, everything matters. Walk Erect. Talk with the truth. Live with courage. The world needs the light that only you can contribute.”

“I don’t have everything resolved. But I know the one who yes. And every day, I choose to trust Him, not because life is easy, but because Christ is faithful. My peace does not come from perfect circumstances … It comes from knowing what a way with a perfect Savior.”

Editor’s note: This article is a translation of a Alyssa Murphy publication in the National Catholic Register blog. The opinions expressed in this article correspond exclusively to its author.