Christian Actor Reveals He Was Blacklisted by Hollywood Because He Wouldn't Abandon His Faith
It isn’t too often you find a successful, outspoken Christian in Hollywood.
Perhaps that’s because many such actors are blacklisted in the industry.
According to veteran actor Neal McDonough, that was certainly what happened in his case.
McDonough is far from a Hollywood lightweight. The actor has starred in many highly regarded shows and movies, including “Minority Report,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “The Flash,” “American Horror Story” and, perhaps most notably, the hit television series “Yellowstone,” per IMDB.
Nevertheless, for a period of time, McDonough was blacklisted for refusing to do sex scenes.
“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. I was hopeful that, at some point, someone would give me a chance again,” the actor told Fox News Digital.
McDonough, a devout Catholic, didn’t only have a no-sex scene rule.
He also had a rule against kissing other co-stars because, according to him, “these lips are meant for one woman.”
The actor married his current wife, Ruvé, back in 2003. They have five children together, according to Fox.
McDonough’s no kissing rule caused some problems for him on “Desperate Housewives.”
But at that time, he was still able to keep his job.
When it came to the 2010 series “Scoundrels,” however, McDonough’s refusal to act in sex scenes got him booted from the show.
“I remember falling to my knees and saying, ‘God, why have you forgotten about me? Why am I being punished so much?’” McDonough said.
“And as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I realized what self-absorbed questions those were. God has given me so much. We all experience challenges in our lives. I should be grateful — and thankful — for all the blessings I’m given.”
But then he was given a chance with the show “Justified.” Apparently, unlike most Hollywood elites, the men and women behind the 2010 neo-Western were tolerant of opposing viewpoints.
The showrunners also cast Nick Searcy, an openly conservative Christian.
“And after ‘Justified,’ everything was kind of forgotten. I was determined to give a really great performance, and I did. And, you know, I realized that perhaps I was taking some of my acting for granted. I was working all the time, but perhaps I wasn’t dialed in enough in terms of what I could really do as an actor,” McDonough said.
More recently, the Catholic actor appeared in another Hollywood project that some argue goes against the political grain of Hollywood, “Yellowstone.”
If he could have one gift for Christmas, McDonough would want to appear yet again on “Yellowstone.” But whether or not that happens is up to showrunner Taylor Sheridan.
“Taylor’s a mighty busy guy right now,” McDonough said, according to Fox. “And you know, [my wife] and I are so busy doing our films that I’m not sure we’ll ever have the time to … get it done. But I certainly would love to do that for sure — get back in the saddle one more time against Kevin [Costner].”
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