Neal McDonough says Hollywood blacklisted him after he refused to do kissing scenes

Neal McDonough opened up about how Hollywood shut him out after he refused to film kissing scenes on an episode of Tim Green’s “Nothing Left Unsaid” podcast, released Wednesday.

McDonough — whose acting credits include “Minority Report,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Suits,” “Yellowstone,” and more — recounted having trouble finding work because he refused to do intimate scenes.

“I’d always had in my contracts I wouldn’t kiss another woman on-screen,” McDonough told Green. “My wife didn’t have any problem with it. It was me, really, who had a problem with it. When I couldn’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 continued.

McDonough, who hails from Dorchester, Mass., and attended Syracuse University, married his wife, Ruvé McDonough, in 2003. They have five children together.

McDonough further elaborated on how the lack of work affected him personally. “I lost everything you could possibly imagine,” he said. “Not just houses and material things, but your swagger, your cool, who you are, your identity—everything. My identity was an actor, and a really good one. And once you don’t have that identity, you’re kind of lost in a tailspin.”

Fortunately, McDonough has been able to lock down work in more recent years.

Neal McDonough opened up about how Hollywood shut him out after he refused to film kissing scenes on an episode of Tim Green’s “Nothing Left Unsaid” podcast, released Wednesday.

McDonough — whose acting credits include “Minority Report,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Suits,” “Yellowstone,” and more — recounted having trouble finding work because he refused to do intimate scenes.

“I’d always had in my contracts I wouldn’t kiss another woman on-screen,” McDonough told Green. “My wife didn’t have any problem with it. It was me, really, who had a problem with it. When I couldn’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 continued.

McDonough, who hails from Dorchester, Mass., and attended Syracuse University, married his wife, Ruvé McDonough, in 2003. They have five children together.

McDonough further elaborated on how the lack of work affected him personally. “I lost everything you could possibly imagine,” he said. “Not just houses and material things, but your swagger, your cool, who you are, your identity—everything. My identity was an actor, and a really good one. And once you don’t have that identity, you’re kind of lost in a tailspin.”

Fortunately, McDonough has been able to lock down work in more recent years. This year he appeared in the film “The Last Rodeo,” where his real-life wife starred alongside him, allowing him to have an on-screen kiss. The film is available to stream on Apple TV. He also starred in six episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” in 2019. Sheridan also cast him in 10 episodes of “Tulsa King” last year. Both shows are available to stream on Paramount+.