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!
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