What caused Neal McDonough’s career collapse? Actor claims he lost everything after refusing on-screen kiss

Neal and Ruve McDonough (Getty via Soap Central CMS - Resized on Canva)
Neal and Ruve McDonough (Getty via Soap Central CMS - Resized on Canva)

Neal McDonough, who once played the roles of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in Band of Brothers, and Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on Boomtown, and more, has revealed that he "lost everything" for refusing to do one thing while filming. The 59-year-old actor revealed that he was blacklisted in Hollywood and was having a hard time finding work just because he refused to kiss another woman on screen.

TMZ shared a clip of the actor's interview on the "Nothing Left Unsaid" podcast. McDonough said:

"I'd always had in my contracts that I wouldn't kiss another woman on screen, and my wife didn't have any problem with it. It was me, really, who had a problem... When I wouldn't do it, and they couldn't understand it, Hollywood just completely turned on me, and they wouldn't let me be part of the show anymore."

He continued to talk about the "things" he lost and how that impacted him over the span of two years. Neal added:

"And for two years, I couldn't get a job and I lost everything you could possibly imagine. 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. I was in a big, ugly tailspin for a couple of years."

How did Neal McDonough get out of the "tailspin"?

Neal McDonough also explained what occurred during the period when he could not get any work. He called it a "tailspin" and revealed that he was drinking a lot during this period. He came out of it with the help of his wife, Ruve McDonough. However, Neal did not exactly mention when this happened.

Now, Neal McDonough is out of the trenches and back to work. In May 2025, he released a drama film called The Last Rodeo, and it featured the actor kissing a woman on screen. But it was not just any actress; Ruve McDonough stepped in to play his on-screen wife.

Ruve and Neal met in 2001 while filming Band of Brothers. The pair got married two years later in 2003, and have been together since. They have five children together.


Neal McDonough’s unwavering commitment to his personal values once cost him his career and identity, leading to years of struggle and self-doubt. But with the unwavering support of his wife Ruve, he found his way back. Today, McDonough is not only working again but doing so on his own terms, even sharing the screen with Ruve in his 2025 film The Last Rodeo.

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Edited by Benidamika Jones Latam