Neal McDonough, known for roles in Suits, Desperate Housewives, and Yellowstone, recently opened up about how his strict moral boundaries nearly derailed his acting career.
Speaking on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, McDonough explained that he has always included a no-kissing clause in his contracts — a decision that didn’t sit well with the Hollywood system.
“My wife didn’t have any problem with it. It was me, really, who had a problem with it,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to put you through it. I know we’re gonna start having kids,’ and I didn’t wanna put my kids through it.”
McDonough, 59, emphasized that for him, intimacy on screen crosses a line. “When I wouldn’t do it and they couldn’t understand it, Hollywood just completely turned on me. They wouldn’t let me be part of the show anymore,” he recalled.
Though he didn’t name the project that led to his blacklisting, McDonough has previously said he was fired from ABC’s Scoundrels in 2010 for refusing to participate in sex scenes.
“It was a horrible situation for me,” he told Closer Weekly at the time. “After that, I couldn’t get a job because everybody thought I was this religious zealot. I am very religious. I put God and family first, and me second. That’s what I live by.”
Married to South African model Ruvé Robertson since 2003, McDonough is a father of five. He says the fallout from his convictions wasn’t just professional—it was deeply personal.
“I couldn’t get a job and I lost everything you could possibly imagine,” he said. “Not just houses, material things, but your swagger, your cool, who you are, your identity, everything. My identity was an actor, and a really good one. Once you don’t have that identity, you’re kind of in a tailspin.”
McDonough admitted the experience led to personal struggles, including heavier drinking. “I never drank during work because I love my craft and take it seriously. But afterward, I still felt like I wasn’t doing the right things. Some things just weren’t clicking.”
Eventually, a lifeline came from producer Graham Yost, who cast McDonough as a villain in the FX series Justified. “I knew that was my shot back at the title,” he said.
Since then, McDonough has returned to the spotlight with roles in Band of Brothers, Arrow, American Horror Story, Tulsa King, and most notably, Yellowstone.
In one of his latest projects, The Last Rodeo, McDonough acted alongside his real-life wife — and even broke his usual rule to share a kiss with her onscreen.
