Neal McDonough

Early life and education

McDonough was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on February 13, 1966, the son of Catherine (née Bushe) and Frank McDonough, motel owners who emigrated from Ireland, with his mother coming from County Tipperary and his father from County Galway. McDonough grew up in Barnstable, Massachusetts and was raised Catholic. His childhood nickname was "Headster", which McDonough says originated in his brothers' teasing him about the size of his head. He graduated from Barnstable High School, and attended Syracuse University, where he was initiated and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1988. He had obtained several college scholarships to play baseball, but decided to go to Syracuse, as he thought it had the best theater department. McDonough furthered his classical theatre training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career

Has starred in many tv-shows and films including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The Hitcher. McDonough played Dave Williams on the fifth season of Desperate Housewives. He also starred in the lead role on 2004 medical drama Medical Investigation for its one full season.

In 1996, McDonough voiced Bruce Banner in the animated television series The Incredible Hulk which ran for two seasons. He later reprised the role in the 2005 video game The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.

McDonough was set to star in the ABC dramedy Scoundrels, but was fired for refusing to act in sex scenes, citing his family and Catholic faith as basis for his decision.

McDonough portrays Jesus in "The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Bible," a dramatized audio New Testament which uses the Catholic edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

In 2011, McDonough appeared as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger. McDonough also voiced the character in the 2011 video game Captain America: Super Soldier. He reprised his role four times since then: in the 2013 short film, Agent Carter; in the first episode of the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014); in an episode of the Agent Carter television series (2015); and as an alternate version in an episode of the What If...? television series (2021).

In 2012, McDonough had a recurring role in the third season of FX's Justified as Robert Quarles, a sadistic carpetbagging mobster from Detroit. He was later cast as Police Chief Parker in Frank Darabont's TNT pilot Mob City.

During the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on NBC, McDonough was featured in a high-profile and frequently aired Poolside commercial for the Cadillac ELR hybrid electric car.

In 2015, McDonough was cast as DC Comics villain Damien Darhk on the fourth season of Arrow.

In 2021, he was cast as President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the tenth season of American Horror Story, titled Double Feature. He is a main cast member for the second part of the season. The same year, he also portrayed the character Dr. William Birkin, the lead villain of the popular video game Resident Evil 2, in a live-action film adaptation of the first two Resident Evil games, entitled Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. He also played a small role as a side villain Anders in The 100.

In 2022, McDonough was a guest artist and narrator for the 2022 annual Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program.

Throughout his career, McDonough has enjoyed recognition for his various character roles in both film and television, as well as for his voice work in animation and video games. As a result of these accolades, he is especially considered one of the best "bad guy character actors" in the industry.

Personal life

McDonough is a devout Catholic. In 2003, McDonough married Ruvé Robertson, a South African model whom he met in the United Kingdom while filming Band of Brothers. They have five children.

McDonough has stated that he refuses to perform sex scenes and kiss female co-stars because of his faith and respect for his wife. In 2010 he was written out of a million-dollar role in the TV series Scoundrels for his refusal to perform sex scenes.

McDonough is a Republican, and revealed his political beliefs during his eulogy at Buck Compton's funeral.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Internet

Awards and nominations

References

References

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2. Drew, April. (2006). "McDonough Stars in The Guardian". IrishAbroad.
3. Kelly, Antoinette. (April 2, 2010). "'Housewives' Catholic star Neal McDonough fired, refused sex scenes". IrishCentral.
4. (November 22, 2013). "Neal McDonough Loves His Big Irish Family".
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8. Finke, Nikki. (March 31, 2010). "No Sex Please, I'm Neal McDonough...". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
9. Breihan, Tom. (March 13, 2012). "Justified's Neal McDonough on Being an Awesome Villain, His Marvel Comics Future, and Going Toe-to-Toe with Boyd Crowder". [[GQ Magazine]].
10. Dionne, Zach. (March 8, 2012). "Justified's Neal McDonough Joins Frank Darabont's L.A. Noir". New York Media LLC.
11. (February 8, 2014). "Cadillac ELR TV spot "Work Hard"". IiSpot.tv.
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13. (October 6, 2020). "Robbie Amell, Neal McDonough, and Hannah John-Kamen Will Headline Resident Evil Reboot".
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17. Lee, Luaine. (September 8, 2004). "Actor McDonough once gave up dream".
18. McLellan, Dennis. (February 29, 2012). "Lynn D. 'Buck' Compton dies at 90; judge also known for WWII service". Los Angeles Times.
19. "Desperate Housewives' Neal McDonough Welcomes Baby Girl". TVGuide.com.
20. Sarah Michaud. (August 16, 2011). "Neal McDonough Welcomes Daughter Clover Elizabeth – Moms & Babies".
21. (April 4, 2014). "Neal McDonough Welcomes Son James Hamilton".
22. (December 21, 2023). "Neal McDonough On Coming Out As A Republican In Hollywood & The Life Changing Impact Band of Brothers Had On Him". [[Fox News Channel]].
23. "Neal McDonough (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
24. Wigler, Josh. (July 27, 2010). "Neal McDonough Confirms Captain America Role (And Bowler Hat), Talks Howling Commandos".
25. Toro, Gabe. (2012-06-09). "Review: After Dark Action Pics ‘El Gringo,’ ‘The Philly Kid,’ ‘Stash House’ & ‘Transit’ An Unven Offering Of Genre Fare".
26. Plunkett, Luke. (December 4, 2012). "Wait, There's a Company of Heroes Movie? And Tom Sizemore's in it?".
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28. Manning, Shaun. (July 22, 2013). "SDCC: Marvel Debuts Atwell's Agent Carter One-Shot".
29. (September 8, 2014). "Falcon Rising: Film Review".
30. Kit, Borys. (March 25, 2014). "Neal McDonough in Talks to Play Villain in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (Exclusive)".
31. Lowe, Justin. (October 28, 2016). "'The Unspoken': Film Review".
32. Schager, Nick. (August 24, 2016). "Film Review: Greater".
33. Miska, Brad. (August 21, 2017). "Netflix Sets Premiere Date for Stephen King's 1922; First Images".
34. N'Duka, Amanda. (April 5, 2017). "Margaret Avery, Xander Berkeley & More Join Taraji P. Henson In Proud Mary".
35. Ehrlich, David. (March 23, 2018). "Game Over, Man! Review: The Workaholics Team Reunites for a Drug-Addled Riff on Die Hard".
36. Sneider, Jeff. (August 9, 2018). "Exclusive: Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Adds MCU Veterans Adam Pally, Neal McDonough".
37. Pavlica, Carissa. (June 20, 2020). "Neal McDonough and Steven R. McQueen Talk INSP's The Warrant".
38. Chang, Tom. (November 10, 2020). "Apex: Bruce Willis in Sci-Fi Action Thriller, Prey Becomes Hunter".
39. N'Duka, Amanda. (October 6, 2020). "Resident Evil Reboot: Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Hannah John-Kamen & More To Star In Origin Story Adaptation".
40. (5 August 2021). "Cinedigm Acquires North American Rights To Western Thriller ‘Red Stone’ Starring Neal McDonough, Michael Cudlitz & Dash Melrose".
41. Cohen, Sam. (1 April 2022). "Neal McDonough Discusses Screenwriting And Filming Process Of BOON - Exclusive Interview". The List.
42. Hanson, Mark. (May 23, 2022). "There Are No Saints Review: An Intoxicating Shot of B-Movie Adrenaline".
43. Barraclough, Leo. (May 12, 2022). "Neal McDonough, Corbin Bernsen, Bailey Chase Join Apocalyptic Thriller Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist (EXCLUSIVE)".
44. Law, Jeannie Ortega. (2023-06-10). "Hollywood actor says playing the devil showed him how blessed by God he really is".
45. Humphrey, Julia. (June 24, 2022). "Sean Astin, Neal McDonough and More Join Holiday Twist".
46. Gleiberman, Owen. (October 19, 2023). "Soul Mates Review: Two Innocents Get Trapped in a Saw Game as Online Date From Hell".
47. Grobar, Matt. (March 9, 2022). "Neal McDonough To Produce & Star Opposite Dermot Mulroney In 'The Warrant' Sequel 'Breaker's Law'".
48. Fleming, Mike. (July 2, 2019). "Mario Van Peebles Saddling Up For Outlaw Posse".
49. (2024-01-05). "Angel Studios Releases Sneak Peek Trailer, Announces Upcoming Feature Film and Series: HOMESTEAD".
50. Grobar, Matt. (2024-10-31). "Angel Studios Sets Memorial Day 2025 Release For Bull Riding Drama ‘The Last Rodeo’ From ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ Helmer Jon Avnet & Neal McDonough".
51. Perry, Spencer. (July 10, 2015). "Arrow Recruits Neal McDonough as New Big Bad Damien Darhk".
52. Burlingame, Russ. (October 12, 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Damien Darhk To Be On The Flash & Legends Of Tomorrow".
53. Bucksbaum, Sydney. (July 23, 2016). "Comic-Con: Legends of Tomorrow to Tackle Legion of Doom Villain Team in Season 2".
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55. Agard, Chancellor. (October 5, 2018). "Exclusive: History reveals Project Blue Book series premiere date".
56. Mitovich, Matt Webb. (September 14, 2018). "Neal McDonough Joins Yellowstone". [[TVLine]].
57. Howard, Kirsten. (August 11, 2021). "Marvel's What If...? Episode 1 Review: Peggy Carter Changes MCU History".
58. Petski, Denise. (September 28, 2022). "9-1-1: Lone Star: Neal McDonough, D.B. Woodside & Amanda Schull Join Season 4 As Recurring".
59. Longretta, Emily. (May 1, 2024). "'Tulsa King' Adds Neal McDonough as Season 2 Series Regular (Exclusive)". [[Variety (magazine).
60. (2015). "[[Skylanders: SuperChargers]]". [[Activision]].
61. "2002–03: The Season of Angels in America". Online Film & Television Association.