Why Neal McDonough Refused On-Screen Kissing and Faced Career Fallout

Neal McDonough has always been the type who draws a line and sticks to it—even when it’s unpopular. Known for roles in Yellowstone, Suits, and Desperate Housewives, the actor recently opened up about how holding on to his personal values nearly ended his career.

During an episode of the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, he shared a detail many didn’t know: for years, he refused to do kissing scenes on camera. Not because of his wife—but because of his own conviction.

“It wasn’t her issue. It was mine,” he said. “I didn’t want to create a situation where my wife or kids had to deal with something I could’ve prevented.”

But that decision came at a price. McDonough said the moment he made that boundary clear, Hollywood began to push him aside. He didn’t get roles. Doors closed. Calls stopped.

He didn’t mention which show was the breaking point, but it lines up with an earlier claim he made about being fired from ABC’s Scoundrels back in 2010 for not agreeing to film sex scenes.

“It was rough,” he said in an old Closer Weekly interview. “People started seeing me as some hardcore religious guy. And yes, I’m deeply religious—but that doesn’t mean I’m extreme. I just live by what I believe: God first, then my family, then me.”

It wasn’t just the acting jobs he lost. According to him, the impact hit deeper.

“I didn’t just lose work. I lost the things you can’t buy back—your presence, your identity, your self-worth. Being an actor was my identity, and when that went, it felt like everything else went too.”

He admitted that during this dark period, alcohol became an outlet. He never drank on set, but after-hours? Things weren’t right. “I knew something was off. I wasn’t in alignment with who I was.”

Then something changed.

Producer Graham Yost called—and offered him a part in Justified. That was the crack of light he needed. “I knew that was my chance to come back,” he said.

And he did.

From that point on, roles started returning. Band of Brothers, Arrow, Tulsa King, American Horror Story, and Yellowstone—he stepped back into the game, stronger and more grounded.

In one of his latest projects, The Last Rodeo, he acted alongside his wife. And for the first time ever, he broke his long-standing boundary—sharing a kiss on screen, not with a co-star, but with the woman he married.