Neal McDonough reflects on dark moments in his life and career.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 60-year-old actor talked about starring in the upcoming Jimmy Stewart biopic Jimmy, scheduled for release on November 6th, and the time he thought his Hollywood career was over.
“What time are the bars open? My thought process at the time was generally,” he explained. “You know, I got fired from the show because I didn’t kiss women. No one wanted to hire me because they thought I was this religious lunatic. I mean, I love my wife so much. And no one can understand that. No one can understand that.”
He went on to admit that he was “always a drinker”, but said he “got into a huge problem” after being criticized for refusing to kiss his co-star, and “lost everything, my house and my car.”
The actor is currently starring in Jimmy, which tells the story of Jimmy Stewart in celebration of his 118th birthday.
During this dark time, the “Desperate Housewives” star recognized the kindness of her friend, actor Luke Perry, who allowed McDonough and her family to live in his home after they lost their home.
“Justified had just come out, and I still felt like I wasn’t worth anything because I had failed my family.[My wife]Louv and our five children had failed and lost our home. I lost all my beautiful things and all my bright ornaments, and that crucifixion caused me great pain, because I had everything for myself. How could I let my team down?”
After some self-reflection and experiencing some tough love from his wife, he realized that he must center his life on serving God and not “serving me.”
He credited his wife of 25 years, Rube, with motivating him to get sober, saying, “She grabbed me and said it’s us or the bottle, your choice,” and “never looked back.”
“It’s a cold, hard fact that God gave me the most amazing, incredible woman I’ve ever met. I could talk about this forever, but she’s been my lucky charm and I’ve been through my hell and now I’m in a wonderful place in my life where we’re here and we’re making a movie together. And I can’t tell you how amazing that is.”
McDonough and his wife work together as producing partners and have produced many projects together, including “Boon,” “The Warrant: Breaker’s Law,” “Homestead” and “The Last Rodeo.”
The two first met while filming “Band of Brothers” in 2000 and began dating in 2001. They got married in December 2003 and have since had five children.
“Now, after producing Jimmy’s story and playing Jimmy Stewart’s father and being so immersed in Jimmy’s world, finding out what Jimmy Stewart went through just before World War II and already winning an Academy Award for Mr. Smith, and then coming back after World War II and thinking, well, what am I going to do with my life?” he said.
After getting to know Stewart as “a very conflicted guy who just wakes up every day and tries to do the right thing,” he explained that the actor’s birthday this year “means a lot more” to him than in previous years.
“Because Louv and I were able to find out who Jimmy Stewart is, read everything about Jimmy, read everything he went through, and see that personified in KJ Apa’s amazing performance,” he said. “I’m a lucky and blessed guy to be a part of that.”
