Neal McDonough is a television and film actor, as well as a voice actor, who has starred in many projects over his roughly 30 years in the entertainment industry. He is American with Irish heritage.
Early life and family
Neal was born on 13 February 1966, in the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts USA. His parents are Catherine and Frank McDonough, who owned a motel before they emigrated from Ireland. Not much more is really known about Neal’s childhood or family, although we do know that he is one of six kids, with four brothers and a sister.
Educational background
Neal attended Barnstable High School, after which he went to Syracuse University, where he was initiated as one of the members of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. In 1988, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Neal had earned himself more than one college scholarship, all thanks to his talent at playing baseball. In the end, he opted to rather attend Syracuse because they have an admired theater department.
Career
Neal’s career started in the 1990s, when he had small roles in films such as ‘Star Trek: First Contact’, ‘Angels in the Outfield and ‘Fire Down Below’.
He got the role of Billy Morrison in ‘A Perfect Little Man’ and won the Best Actor Award at the 1999 Atlantic City Film Festival, which certainly put Neal ‘on the map’ in the acting world. After this, he got to play larger roles in bigger productions, such as ‘The Guardian’, ‘The Hitcher’, ‘RED 2’, ‘The Marine 3’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’.
In 1991, Neal’s role in ‘Away Alone’ earned him a Best Actor Dramalogue Award. In addition to his acting roles, Neal has also done voice acting, most notably for shows and movies such as ‘Batman: Assault of Arkham’ and ‘DC Showcase: Green Arrow’. He also gave voice to Bruce Banner in the animated show ‘The Incredible Hulk’ between 1996 and 1997. On the small screen, Neal scooped up roles in shows such as ‘Boomtown’, ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘Medical Investigation’. In 2003, he won Satellite Award’s Best Supporting Actor Award for his role of Dr Stephen Connor.
Neal has also been in other popular shows in which he demonstrated his acting skills, starring in ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘Justified’, ‘Suits’, ‘Arrow’, ‘The Flash’ and ‘Yellowstone’. The blonde actor was also going to be part of ABC’s ‘Scoundrels’, but was (according to him) booted after he refused to act out sex scenes – Neal cited his Catholic faith as the reason for his refusal. Later, his religion came into play again when he portrayed Jesus in a 22-hour audio telling of the Bible, entitled ‘The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Bible’, based on the Catholic version of the Bible.
Neal also voiced his ‘Captain America’ role, Dum Dum Dugan, in a related video game tie-in, ‘Captain America: Super Soldier’, which role was also continued by Neal when he appeared in ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’ and ‘Agent Carter’. He returned for another season (the third) of ‘Justified’ in 2012, and in 2014 during the Winter Olympics ceremony on NBC, Neal starred in a Cadillac commercial.
Hobbies, favourite things and interesting facts
Although Neal is a relatively big star, his private life is not something that he reveals much about.
With that said, we don’t really know what he likes and dislikes or how he spends his free time. However, one interesting fact about Neal is that he was named Mr BHS during his high school time. This is a male spoof on the idea of Junior Miss Pageant.
In first grade, he got the role of the Cowardly Lion in ‘The Wizard of Oz’, although he actually wanted to play as the Tin Man. In 2007, he got his wish and played the title role in Sci-Fi Network’s ‘Tin Man’ mini-series. The actor appeared in advertisements for Gap clothing and is a fan of Warren Zevon, an American singer-songwriter.
Neal’s brother Gerard was a contestant in ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’, and walked away with $32,000 after he got a $64,000 question incorrect.
Relationships
Neal married Ruvé Robertson, who is a model from South Africa, in 2003 – the two met in the UK while working on ‘Band of Brothers’. They have five kids together: Morgan ‘Little Buck’, Patrick, Catherine Maggie, London Jane, Clover Elizabeth and James Hamilton.
Physical characteristics
- Hair colour: Blonde
- Eye colour: Deep Blue
- Height: 6ft 0ins (1.83 m)
- Weight: Unknown
- Shoe Size: Unknown
- Star Sign: Aquarius
Net worth
Neal’s net worth is estimated at close to $7 million, accumulated during his long and varied career in the entertainment industry since the late 1980s.