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I wrote about actor Neal McDonough’s trouble with ABC back in March and received one of the biggest responses ever to a story because he was standing up for his religious beliefs. You may recall the post (No Sex Please, I’m Neal McDonough): how he was suddenly replaced 3 days into the filming on the ABC series Scoundrels in a move officially explained as a casting change. But, in fact, McDonough was sacked because of his refusal to do some heated love scenes because he’s a family man and a Catholic, and he’s always made it clear that he won’t do sex scenes. And ABC knew that. Well, a lot of people who applauded Neal wanted to know what he’ll be doing next. Of course, he’s co-starring in Marvel’s Captain America movie currently shooting in London. But now I hear McDonough has co-created and will executive produce and star in VIGILANTE PRIEST, a one hour drama for Starz which is fast-tracking the project.
I hear the series was his own idea, and he will co-create it with Law & Order vet Walon Green who will also exec produce and write. John Avnet also will be executive producing and directing the pilot. McDonough will take on the title role: an ex-cop turned priest who is cleaning up the streets of Los Angeles “one sinner at a time”. I continue to applaud the Band Of Brothers and Desperate Housewives standout for sticking to his principles even if it has cost him jobs.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Vigilante Priest? Wasn’t that the Spanish TV show they watched on King of the Hill? “Vaya…..con Dios!”
“Vigilante? Cleaning up the streets? Hmmm… sounds like sex bad, violence good. How principled!
Give me a break! You’re an actor, you do the scene, you go home and play with the kids. Get over yourself! If he wasn’t such a pretty face, he’d never get another gig.
go home and play with the kids? some hook up on the set and some fall in love even though “it’s merely acting”. If I were Mrs. McDonough I’d be proud of and grateful for my prude ass husband.
A priest that cleans up the streets “one sinner at the time”? So he has a small shower and washing machine that can’t handle more than one person and one load?
What’s that you say? He kills one sinner at the time? That can’t be!!!!!!! He is a devoted Catholic!!!!!! Yes, sex might be icky to portray, but I don’t recall anything about it in the 10 Commandments. In fact I believe “THOUGH SHALL NOT KILL” is right at the top of the list, right after a petty, jealous, and insecure Deity makes sure he the only one worshipped and loved. But then again, since religion is actually an INVENTION, (strange how God “passes on” his vision only to the hermit in the wilderness) then I guess it’s ok for Mr. Catholic to pick and choose which part of his invented rules he can follow.
This sort of argument is specious at best. No where have I ever read that McDonough feels the portrayal of sex in movies is immoral. He won’t participate because he feels even the fake sex a movie scene would require is too close to the real thing to not be cheating. On the other hand, violence in movies is all completely fake. No one is actually getting hurt unless a stunt goes wrong.
I know it’s fun and/or tempting to ignore that distinction to make some sort of knee-jerk “OMG HYPOCRISY!” posts on the internet, but come on.
Sigh,
You nailed it. The “detractors” arguments remind me of the arguments of a freshman student at a very average liberal arts college. “Specious” is being kind. What a abunch of knee jerk nitwits. They attack this man for things he never said, views he’s never exposed, all based on heresay and information which is incomplete at best.
Morons. God, the intellectual condition of this country’s “educated class” is appaling.
And the criticisms of Neil’s new show, equally moronic and clearly they come from a bunch of film wanabes. The criticism is akin to attacking a “cop show” because there have have been other cop shows which preceded it. There is nothing new — NOTHING — in TV. It’s all about execution, which those who work in the industry know well.
No, he won’t do the sex scenes based on his religious views. But religion also FORBIDS killing, real or imaginary. So for him to say no to sex, but ok TO A PRIEST killing people, that’s where you scratch your head and go HUHHHHHHHHHHHHH????????
How about him portraying just a normal person who does random acts of kindness? God knows we need them these days.
From the actors standpoint, you may be right. From a viewer standpoint, I think watching two adults, in an adult relationship, seems a lot more reasonable than wathcing people kill each other and blow each other up, real or not.
Separating yourself from a character is impossible when it comes to sex. Sex IS you. Wise up. Funny how a guy who’s man enough to stick to his moral absolutes gets hammered by society. Why do people have a problem with this? Solid actor, good man, glad to see he’s locked into his standards. So much for most of Hollywood.
Wow. Sex IS you. Great thought. Better sentence. Let me try to put it in a way you’ll understand- acting is a job for an artist. The goal is to bring characters who IS not you to life. If you can’t do what the job requires because the character you are playing is doing something that goes against your personal value system, do something else. Clearly acting is not the job for you.
I think it’s awesome that an actor has the guts to stand up for his beliefs like that! It also goes to show you that you can still work in this town without having to “sell your soul” or compromise your beliefs.
I find it very interesting the choices Neal makes. He was in 88 Minutes with Pacino as the nastiest of killers (cursing up a storm btw) so his “religious beliefs” did not seem to get in the way of his acting at that time. I think this is all PR nonsense. If he is a real actor, he should act. It is not like they thrust nude scenes upon him. I think this righteousness put forth by Mr. McDonough is very self serving…
Good for Neal…..how truly honest and and refreshing. A man who actually stands up for what he believes …. I think it’s a fine tribute to his character! Too bad there are not many more actors who would follow his path !! There is so much trash in the Media….and many do sell their souls for the MONEY .
yay!!! we need more stories like this! we need more people like neal!! we need more MORALS in hollywood!!!
“priest who is cleaning up the streets of Los Angeles “one sinner at a time”.”
Here’s an actor who won’t pretend to make out with someone, but wants to eagerly embody a character who murders people who don’t think like him.
No, that’s not disturbing at all.
I loved you, Buck Compton. Too bad you couldn’t keep your personal crap out of your professional life.
It is really refreshing. Seriously we need many more people like this.
Okay people. There’s a difference between pretending that you are “blowing people away” and doing a love/sex scene in which you are actually “making out”– a term I haven’t used in thirty years.
Know the difference. One is pretend, the other is actually rolling around in sheets going at it pretty hot and heavy.
I don’t see this as an actor advocating violence over sex. I see it as an actor simply avoiding the temptation which we all know exists on a film set.
So let me get this straight. He played the role of a character in a film where he tore open his lovers stomach with his bare hands and ripped out her unborn child (aka a bare-handed abortion)…but that was fine with his religion?
Maybe he just figured that since maybe ten people (besides myself of course!) went to see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li, nobody would bring this up.
Bravo Applause Ovation! I will follow this one where ever he goes because supportting the all too rare Hollywood type who will not let his stated and public values be compromised. (Like being hired as the bookkeeper and then being told to steal from the clients as well).
Thank you Nikki for letting us know that there is a happy ending for ONE fellow who did the right thing for himself and his family!
“VIGILANTE PRIEST” sounds very interesting. Neal is a great talent. I look forward to this new project, I believe Neal will be a effective producer. He seems to give 100% in all his projects… this new one sounds interesting and original.
Good for Neal. Those who don’t understand why Neal wouldn’t want to “act” the act of sex no longer have sensitivity to the special relationship between man and wife. Undoubtedly, the very natural qualms–which one should have–about acting sex out for enterainment for such critics are trodden on so many times that these critics no longer need to rationalize. In fact, it is their “duty” as actors to do whatever is required. Those qualms are gone, and they lose those gentle, delicate–and may I say sacred?–feelings for his or her spouse. These acts should be reserved for ones spouse only.
Besides, Neal Critics, what’s it to you if he chooses not to? Really, what is it to you? It appears that actors adopt an attitude where the freedom to choose is suspended, and one must play in the box which they play in. There is no box, or as trendy people like to say, “Think outside of the box.”
Glad to hear Neal is stepping up and creating content, not just complaining. Given his past choices of violent roles and the way he chose to leave Scoundrels, I was quite skeptical. I hope he will choose to celebrate the real-life heroics of Father Pfleger of Chicago’s St. Sabina parish.
I hope many of the posters here will take the time to find out a bit more about filmmaking. A lot of them seem to think it’s like a play, when in fact the “love” scenes are as tightly and technically choreographed as the “fight” scenes. Perhaps they’ve never seen “making of” or BTS videos. Just as many actors marry their makeup artists as marry their scene partners, it seems to me. That’s a much more time-consuming and intimate dynamic, anyway.
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