| Birth Date: | 13 February 1966 |
| Birth Place: | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Syracuse University (BFA) |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1990–present |
| Children: | 5 |
Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on Boomtown (2002–2003), Tin Man in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, and as Dave Williams in Season 5 of Desperate Housewives (2008–2009), and President Dwight D. Eisenhower in (2021) for which he was critically acclaimed. He has also appeared in films such as , Minority Report, Walking Tall, and as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan in various Marvel Cinematic Universe films and TV series. In the DC Arrowverse, he has appeared as Damien Darhk in the TV series Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash. He had a major role in Suits for several seasons (2014–2019) and played Malcolm Beck on Yellowstone (2019).
McDonough was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on February 13, 1966, the son of Catherine (née Bushe) and Frank McDonough, motel owners who emigrated from Ireland, with his mother coming from County Tipperary and his father from County Galway.[1] [2] McDonough grew up in Barnstable, Massachusetts and was raised Catholic.[3] His childhood nickname was "Headster", which McDonough says originated in his brothers' teasing him about the size of his head.[4] He graduated from Barnstable High School, and attended Syracuse University, where he was initiated and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1988. He had obtained several college scholarships to play baseball, but decided to go to Syracuse, as he thought it had the best theater department.[5] McDonough furthered his classical theatre training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, , Minority Report and The Hitcher. McDonough played Dave Williams on the fifth season of Desperate Housewives.[6] He also starred in the lead role on 2004 medical drama Medical Investigation for its one full season.
In 1996, McDonough voiced Bruce Banner in the animated television series The Incredible Hulk which ran for two seasons. McDonough reprised his role in the 2005 video game, .
McDonough was set to star in the ABC dramedy Scoundrels,[7] but was fired for refusing to act in sex scenes, citing his family and Catholic faith as basis for his decision.[8]
McDonough portrays Jesus in "The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament Bible," a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatized audio New Testament which uses the Catholic edition of the revised standard version of the Bible.
In 2011, McDonough appeared as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan in . McDonough also voiced the character in the 2011 tie-in video game, . He reprised his role four times since then: in the 2013 short film, Agent Carter; in the first episode of the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014); in an episode of the Agent Carter television series (2015); and as an alternate version in an episode of the What If...? television series (2021).
In 2012, McDonough had a recurring role in the third season of FX's Justified as Robert Quarles, a sadistic carpetbagging mobster from Detroit.[9] He was later cast as Police Chief Parker in Frank Darabont's TNT pilot Mob City.[10]
During the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on NBC, McDonough was featured in a high-profile and frequently aired Poolside commercial for the Cadillac ELR hybrid electric car.[11]
In 2015, McDonough was cast as DC Comics villain Damien Darhk on the fourth season of Arrow.[12]
In 2021, he was cast as President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the tenth season of American Horror Story, titled Double Feature. He is a main cast member for the second part of the season. The same year, he also portrayed the character Dr. William Birkin, the lead villain of the popular video game Resident Evil 2, in a live-action film adaptation of the first two Resident Evil games, entitled .[13] He also played a small role as a side villain Anders in The 100.
In 2022, McDonough was a guest artist and narrator for the 2022 annual Tabernacle Choir Christmas Program.[14]
Throughout his career McDonough has enjoyed recognition for his various character roles in both film and television, as well as for his voice work in animation and video games. As a result of these accolades, he is especially considered one of the best "bad guy character actors" in the industry today.[15]
McDonough is a devout Catholic.[16] In 2003, McDonough married Ruvé Robertson, a South African model whom McDonough met in the United Kingdom while filming Band of Brothers.[17] The couple have five children.[18] [19] [20] [21]
He has stated that he refuses to perform sex scenes and kiss female co-stars because of his faith and respect for his wife. He said he was fired from the TV series Scoundrels for his refusal to perform sex scenes.
McDonough is a Republican, and revealed his political beliefs during his eulogy at Buck Compton's funeral.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Darkman | Dockworker #2 | |
| 1994 | Angels in the Outfield | Whit Bass | |
| 1995 | Three Wishes | Policeman | |
| 1996 | Lt. Hawk | ||
| 1997 | Fire Down Below | Truck Driver At Truck Stop | |
| 1999 | A Perfect Little Man | Billy Morrisson | |
| Ravenous | Reich | ||
| 2002 | Minority Report | Officer Gordon "Fletch" Fletcher | |
| 2003 | Timeline | Frank Gordon | |
| They Call Him Sasquatch | Ned Dwyer | ||
| 2004 | Walking Tall | Jay Hamilton | |
| 2006 | The Guardian | Chief Petty Officer Jack Skinner | |
| The Last Time | Hurly | ||
| Flags of Our Fathers | Captain Dave Severance | ||
| Machine | Jack Ford | ||
| 2007 | The Hitcher | Lieutenant Esteridge | |
| I Know Who Killed Me | Daniel Fleming | ||
| 2008 | Forever Strong | Coach Richard Penning | |
| 88 Minutes | Jon Forster | ||
| Traitor | FBI Agent Max Archer | ||
| 2009 | M. Bison | ||
| 2010 | Green Arrow / Oliver Queen | Voice, short film[22] | |
| 2011 | Little Birds | Hogan | |
| Ticking Clock | James Keene | ||
| Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan | |||
| 2012 | The Philly Kid | Jim "L.A. Jim" Jacoby | |
| 2013 | Company of Heroes | Lieutenant Joe Conti | |
| Jonah Pope | |||
| Red 2 | Jack Horton | ||
| Agent Carter | Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan | Short film | |
| 2014 | Bad Country | Kiersey | |
| Floyd Lawton / Deadshot | Voice | ||
| Falcon Rising | Manny Ridley | ||
| 2015 | Vincent Sofel | ||
| 2016 | Greater | Marty Burlsworth | Also executive producer |
| 2017 | 1922 | Harlan Cotterie | |
| 2018 | Proud Mary | Walter | |
| Game Over, Man! | Conrad Drothers | ||
| 2019 | Buddy Games | Himself | |
| 2020 | Sonic the Hedgehog | Major Bennington | |
| The Warrant | John Breaker | Also executive producer | |
| Red Stone | Boon | Also executive producer | |
| Monsters of Man | Major | ||
| 2021 | Apex | Samuel Rainsford | |
| William Birkin | |||
| 2022 | Boon | Boon | Also writer and producer[23] |
| There Are No Saints | Vincent | ||
| Jonathan Stonagal | |||
| O Holy Night | Guest Narrator | Also a live Christmas album | |
| 2023 | The Shift | The Benefactor | |
| Holiday Twist | Skip | ||
| Soul Mates | Matchmaker | ||
| 2024 | Outlaw Posse | Bart | |
| Homestead | TBA | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | China Beach | Lurch | Episode: "Hello Goodbye" | |
| Quantum Leap | Chucky | Episode: "Play Ball" | ||
| Babe Ruth | Lou Gehrig | Television film | ||
| 1993 | Jason | Television film | ||
| 1994 | Duckman | IRS Agent | Voice, episode: "Not So Easy Riders" | |
| Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | Camera #1 / Monster #1 | Voice, episode: "Curse of the Krumm/Krumm Goes Hollywood" | ||
| 1995 | Blue River | Edward Sellars | Television film | |
| JAG | Second Lieutenant Jay Williams | Episode "Desert Son" | ||
| White Dwarf | Dr. Driscoll Rampart III | Television film | ||
| Iron Man | Firebrand | Voice, episode: "Fire and Rain" | ||
| 1996 | Murphy Brown | Clive Walker | Episode: "If You're Going to Talk the Talk" | |
| NYPD Blue | Jerry Selness | Episode: "He's Not Guilty, He's My Brother" | ||
| 1996–1997 | The Incredible Hulk | Bruce Banner | Voice, 21 episodes | |
| 1997 | Invasion | Randy North | TV miniseries | |
| 1998 | Ross Canin | 2 episodes | ||
| 1999 | Martial Law | Kyle Strode | 4 episodes | |
| Balloon Farm | Sheriff | Television film | ||
| Just Shoot Me! | Craig | Episode: "Shaking Private Trainer" | ||
| Profiler | Christoper Langston | Episode: "To Serve and Protect" | ||
| 2001 | Band of Brothers | First Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton | 8 episodes | |
| 2002 | The X-Files | Agent Comer | 2 episodes | |
| 2002–2003 | Boomtown | L.A. Deputy D.A. David McNorris | 24 episodes | |
| 2004–2005 | Medical Investigation | Dr. Stephen Connor | 20 episodes | |
| 2007 | Traveler | Secretary of Homeland Security Jack Freed | 6 episodes | |
| Tin Man | Wyatt Cain (Tin Man) | 3 episodes | ||
| 2008–2009 | Desperate Housewives | Dave Williams | 24 episodes | |
| 2010 | Terriers | Ford / Tom Cutshaw | 2 episodes | |
| 2011 | Monsignor McTeal | Episode: "The Consoler" | ||
| 2012 | Justified | Robert Quarles | 13 episodes | |
| Senator Gordon Hamilton | Episode: "Unspoken" | |||
| Perception | Fredrick James Dafoe | Episode: "Cipher" | ||
| 2013 | Tommy Barnes | Episode: "Sheltered" | ||
| Mob City | Captain Bill Parker | 6 episodes | ||
| 2014–2019 | Suits | Sean Cahill | 17 episodes | |
| 2014 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan | Episode: "Shadows" | |
| 2015 | Agent Carter | Episode: "The Iron Ceiling" | ||
| Public Morals | Rusty Patton | 9 episodes | ||
| 2015–2016 | Arrow | Damien Darhk | 20 episodes | |
| 2015–2022 | The Flash | 4 episodes | ||
| 2016–2020 | Legends of Tomorrow | 21 episodes | ||
| 2017 | Rogue | Casey Oaks | 5 episodes | |
| Survivor's Remorse | Brian | Episode: "Repercussions" | ||
| 2018–2021 | Van Helsing | Hansen / Willem | 9 episodes | |
| 2019–2020 | Project Blue Book | General James Harding | 18 episodes | |
| 2019 | Yellowstone | Malcolm Beck | 6 episodes[24] | |
| 2020 | Altered Carbon | Konrad Harlan | 3 episodes | |
| The 100 | Anders | 5 episodes | ||
| 2021 | What If...? | Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan | Voice, episode: "What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?" | |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | 4 episodes; Main role | |||
| 2022 | Sergeant Ty O'Brien | 7 episodes | ||
| 2024 | Tulsa King | Cal Thresher | Main role (season 2)[25] |
| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Bruce Banner | ||
| 2009 | Rogue Warrior | Admiral Travis Payton | |
| 2011 | Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan | ||
| 2013 | The Flash, Damian Wayne / Nightwing, Regime Soldier #2 | ||
| 2015 | Astroblast | [26] | |
| Jack Vincent | Also likeness |
| Year | Award | Award category | Title of work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Atlantic City Film Festival | Best Actor (Jury Award) | A Perfect Little Man | |
| 2003 | Online Film & Television Association Award[27] | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Boomtown | rowspan="2" |
| Television Critics Association Award | Individual Achievement in Drama | |||
| Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series – Drama | |||
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives | rowspan="2" |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Justified | |
| Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film |