
Actor Neal McDonough Breaks No-Sex-Scene Rule
There's a reason you've never seen Neal in any intimate scenes on the big and small screen. The 59-year-old actor, who also happens to be a devout Catholic, swore to only kiss the lips of his wife, and he's upheld that commitment throughout his 30+ years working in Hollywood.
Neal married South African model, Ruvé Robertson, back in December 2003 after the two met in the United Kingdom while he was filming Band of Brothers.
The couple celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary last year, and together they have five children — Morgan, Catherine, London, Clover, and James.
'I won't kiss any other woman because these lips are meant for one woman,' Neal said of his wife.
Thankfully, Neal has been able to play some amazing roles despite the restriction, like when he landed a spot on the hit soapy drama Desperate Housewives. 'When [creator] Marc Cherry signed me, I said, 'I'm sure you know, but I won't kiss anybody,'' Neal said. 'He was like, 'But this is Desperate Housewives!' I said, 'I know.' He paused for about five seconds and said, 'All right, I'm just going to have to write better.' And we had a great time.'
But not everyone in the business was willing to be so accommodating. Neal recalled getting fired from a show due to his refusal to shoot those scenes. He also felt like he was being blacklisted in the industry for a while because of it.
'I was [surprised], and it was a horrible situation for me,' Neal said of being "fired from Scoundrels" for not filming sex scenes with costar Virginia Madsen. '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. It was hard for a few years. Then [Band of Brothers producer] Graham Yost called me and said, 'Hey, I want you to be the bad guy on Justified. I knew that was my shot back at the title.'
And he's been on a roll ever since, starring in popular projects like Captain America: The First Avenger, Minority Report, Star Trek: First Contact, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Flash, and more.
Well, it looks like Neal finally made an exception to his no on-screen kissing rule...but there's a twist. He revealed on TikTok that he convinced Ruvé to play the leading lady he'd smooch in his latest film The Last Rodeo, and it worked out perfectly.
"Many people out there have asked me what it's like to have your first screen kiss, which I did in The Last Rodeo," Neal said on TikTok. "The reason it's so special to me, as everyone knows, I won't kiss another woman on screen, but now I get to kiss the one, the only, my best friend, and the love of my life — my wife Rose, in The Last Rodeo."
He was referring to the name of Ruvé's character in the movie, Rose Wainright.
"She was amazing. The film is amazing. But to have my first screen kiss and to actually play the hero, and kiss the girl in the end, is something that I've never done, but something I've always wanted to do my whole career. Now I get to do it.
Comments were filled with people applauding him for staying true to his morals:
The Last Rodeo is currently available to stream on select platforms.
What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments!
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rob Lowe sent 'missing' milk cartons to 'West Wing' producers during on-set 'difficulties'
Lowe said "it's all good now," but it wasn't always. Has anyone seen Sam Seaborn? Rob Lowe, who played the idealistic deputy of communications at the White House on the first four seasons of NBC's acclaimed political drama The West Wing, asked that very question when he left the show as a regular cast member. Seaborn was been elected to office in California. "It's all good now, but there were some difficulties. At one point, they had sort of written me off the show. I didn't feel like I had a lot to do and so I made these," Lowe said, in a video on TikTok, as he held up a milk carton with a missing person ad for, yep, Seaborn. "I sent them to everbody affiliated with the show: the network, the studio, producers, executives." It was unclear if the recipients of his gift included costars, such as Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Janel Moloney, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, and the late John Spencer, in the drama about the inner workings of a Democratic administration. The show won an impressive 26 Emmys over the course of its seven-season run, between 1999 and 2006. While the carton bit is funny now, the prank came during a pretty tense situation. Lowe had signed onto the show, created by Aaron Sorkin, with the expectation that Seaborn would be the main character. It ended up being an ensemble. Lowe has also explained that he had felt "very undervalued" and, during an August 2023 appearance on Stitcher Studios' Podcrushed podcast, gave an example from seeing his adult sons grew up. They were "getting to a certain age where I could see them having first girlfriends and being in a relationship that was abusive and taking it," Lowe said. "'She's the popular girl, everybody likes her, she's beautiful, it must be great' — all the things that people would say about making The West Wing to me. 'It's so popular, it's so amazing, it must be amazing.' But I know what it's like, and if I couldn't walk away from it, then how could I empower my kids to walk away from it?" He called his decision to leave "the best thing I ever did." In his TikTok, Lowe said that these days he has "love" for the show and "everybody in it." Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly


Elle
2 hours ago
- Elle
Forget Leopard—Cow Print Is the Surprising Trend of Summer
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. What is the bellweather for the latest summer trend, you ask? It's not about how many runways feature this design, nor about the virality of it on TikTok. Apparently, the way to know the Next Big Thing is to check if a Kardashian toddler has been spotted wearing it. And since True Thompson (Khloé Kardashian's daughter, for those not in the know) was recently seen donning the now-sold-out Prada Galleria Cow Print Bag, it solidifies what we should have already known: The era of leopard is over, and we have now entered into Cow Print Summer. We're no strangers to wearing animal prints. From snake to zebra, we've seen nearly every faux exotic in stores and on the runways. But in a post-Cowboy Carter world, where Bella Hadid is now a rodeo star and cowboy boots still reign supreme, it should come as no surprise that we've moved past big cats and arrived at bovine prints at last. From Holsteins to Guernseys, cowhide prints (or the real deal in hide form) have made their way to our shoes, bags, jeans, and belts. Whether you opt for a classic black-and-white print or something scattered with neutral browns and tans, the cow print trend is surprisingly simple to incorporate into your wardrobe. A standout bag or pair of sneakers paired with simple blue jeans is enough to do the trick, but you can also opt for a cow print dress if you want to beat the all hat, no cattle allegations. While Western wear is a quintessential summer vibe, cowhide—especially in coat and boot forms—is a trend we expect to spot well into the fall. So, you can officially say goodbye to shearling accessories and leopard spring skirts. Here, find some of our go-to moo-worthy picks if you want to explore the trend. Every product featured on is independently researched, tested, or editor-approved. We only recommend products that we stand behind, and the merchandise featured on our site is always driven by editorial and product testing standards, not by affiliate deals or advertising relationships. Any content created in partnership with advertisers is marked as such.

3 hours ago
Content creator Jaclyn Smith talks redefining nail art on TikTok
ABC News' Morgan Norwood sits down with Jaclyn Smith to show off her ABC News-inspired nail art while talking about the success of her content on TikTok.