Hollywood Blacklisted Me for Refusing On-Screen Kisses – US Actor Neal McDonough

 

 

Veteran Hollywood actor Neal McDonough has opened up about being blacklisted in the film industry for his refusal to kiss other women on screen — a decision he says stems from his commitment to his wife and personal values.

In a revealing conversation on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, the Yellowstone and Band of Brothers star shared how his longstanding stance against filming intimate scenes cost him major roles and nearly ended his career.

“I always had in my contracts that I wouldn’t kiss another woman on screen,” McDonough said. “My wife didn’t have a problem with it. It was me. I didn’t want to put her or our kids through it.”

The 58-year-old actor, known for his strong faith and family-first principles, said that his refusal to compromise led to a cold shoulder from Hollywood.

“When I wouldn’t do it, and they couldn’t understand it, Hollywood just completely turned on me,” he said. “For two years, I couldn’t get a job. I lost everything — not just material things, but my confidence, identity, everything.”

McDonough recalled being fired from a TV show after refusing to wear a “modesty sock” for a simulated sex scene.

“They said, ‘Unless you do it, we’re going to have to replace you.’ I said, ‘Well, then replace me.’ And they did.”

That decision triggered a lawsuit, and for a time, McDonough feared his career was over.

“I remember flying over the New Mexico desert thinking I’d have a better chance surviving there than in Hollywood,” he said.

Still, McDonough said he never doubted his choice.

“I knew I did the right thing for my marriage. I knew I did the right thing for God. And I knew I did the right thing for me.”

In a 2019 interview, he revealed he was fired from the ABC series Scoundrels in 2010 for the same reasons, saying people labeled him a “religious zealot.”

His career saw a resurgence when Band of Brothers producer Graham Yost offered him a role in Justified, a project McDonough credits as his comeback.

Now, the actor is in full control of his story with The Last Rodeo — a film he wrote, directed, and stars in. When the script called for on-screen romance, McDonough cast his real-life wife, Ruvé, as his love interest.

“She’s a good-looking woman,” he said proudly. “Everything else pales in comparison.”

“It was financed and ready to go. But I said, ‘I’m not doing this movie unless you play my wife.’ She said, ‘I’m not an actor.’ And I told her, ‘Well, you are now.’”

Neal McDonough’s story continues to resonate as a rare example of personal conviction in an industry often known for compromise.