Neal McDonough is looking back on a dark moment in his life and career.<\/p>\n
During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 60-year-old actor discussed his Jimmy Stewart biopic he is a part of, Jimmy, which is set to release on November 6, and a time when he thought his Hollywood career was over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time is the bar open? That was generally my thought process back then,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was, you know, fired from a show because I wouldn\u2019t kiss a woman. No one would hire me because they thought I was this religious nut bag, which is that I love my wife so much. And no one can understand it, no one could understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to admit that while he \u201cwas always a drinker,\u201d but \u201cit became a bad problem\u201d after he was blackballed for refusing to kiss his co-star, saying, \u201cI lost the house, lost the cars, lost everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The actor is currently starring in Jimmy, which tells the story of Jimmy Stewart in celebration of what would have been the actor\u2019s 118th birthday.<\/p>\n
While in this dark time, the Desperate Housewives star found kindness in his friend, actor Luke Perry, who allowed McDonough and his family to live in his home after they lost theirs.<\/p>\n
\u201cJustified was just coming out, but I still didn\u2019t think I was worth anything because I failed to my family. I failed, [my wife] Ruve, my five kids, that I lost our house. I lost all the beautiful things that were the shiny widgets that I had accumulated, were all taken away from me. And that crucifixion caused me so much inner pain because I made it all about me. How could I let the team down?\u201d<\/p>\n
After some introspection, and some tough love from his wife, he realised he had to make his life about serving God, \u201crather than serving me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He credited his wife of 25 years, Ruve, for giving him the motivation he needed to quit drinking, saying, \u201cShe grabbed me and says, it\u2019s us or the bottle, you choose,\u201d and he \u201cnever looked back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a cold, hard fact that God gave me an amazing, incredible, most amazing woman that I\u2019ve ever met. I can talk forever about it, but she\u2019s my good luck charm, and she got through me hell, and now here I am, in a fantastic place in life that we\u2019re producing movies together. And I can\u2019t tell you how amazing that feels.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDonough and his wife work together as producing partners and have made many projects together, including Boon, The Warrant: Breaker\u2019s Law, Homestead and The Last Rodeo.<\/p>\n
They first met in 2000 while filming Band of Brothers and began dating in 2001. They tied the knot in December 2003 and have since welcomed five children.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, after producing the Jimmy story and playing Jimmy Stewart\u2019s dad and immersing myself in the world of Jimmy \u2026 to know what Jimmy Stewart had gone through just previously in World War II, and had already won the Academy Award for Mr. Smith, to come back after World War II and think, well, what am I going to do now in life?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After getting to know Stewart as a \u201cvery conflicted guy who just tried to get up every day and do the right thing,\u201d he explained that the actor\u2019s birthday \u201cmeans a whole lot more to\u201d him this year than in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Ruve and I got to see who Jimmy Stewart was, read all about Jimmy, what he had gone through, and then to watch it be personified in the amazing performance by KJ Apa,\u201d he said. \u201cI am one lucky and blessed dude to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n