How Sobriety Caused Neal McDonough to Live for God

Published: July 10, 2025

By Gavin Boyle

After giving up alcohol, Neal McDonough could finally live a life of purpose and focus on serving God and others rather instead of himself.

“Years ago, I had a problem with alcohol. I had to stop drinking alcohol to actually fall in love with Neal McDonough again. Because once you stop drinking, and all that time of sitting in a bar, or all the time going to the store, all that — I just get tired thinking about it — all that energy now is geared towards, okay, ‘I’m all by myself right now. I’m not leaning on the crutch that I usually do. This is a lot of extra time with me. I may not like me very much right now, but at some point, I’m gonna figure out how to fall in love with myself again,’” McDonough told Fox News.

“And that’s what I did when I gave up drinking. I started to actually like me again. And I forgot how blessed I am and all the gifts that God has given me. I’m a great actor. I can’t pound a nail. I can’t tell a joke, but I’m a great actor. That’s a gift from God,” he continued. “That doesn’t make me special. That’s just a gift that I figured out early on. So I’m going to keep running with that and do the best that I can to entertain as many people as possible.”

While McDonough is a known Christian in Hollywood — getting excommunicated from the industry for years because of his faith — he has a history of playing bad guys in his TV shows and movies. While he believes these roles still honored the Lord as part of a broader story, he has had a chance to show a different side of himself in recent years through his production company.

“I’ve certainly done plenty enough where my characters don’t portray the best things in life, but as an actor, you’re part of a piece…It’s a great challenge as an actor; it’s a great challenge as a man. It’s also a great challenge as a child to God to press on with the right material,” he explained.

“Now I have that opportunity [to play the good guy] because [my business partner] and I are doing it ourselves…” McDonough continued. “Not just to make a movie, but to do a movie that actually gives Him glory – that’s our goal. And that’s what we’re after.”

McDonough created his production company in 2022 and has since had the privilege to star in multiple faith-based movies tied into Angel Studios. His most recent movie with them, THE LAST RODEO, follows the story of a bull riding legend who is forced to come out of retirement to raise money to save his grandson’s life. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:

THE LAST RODEO is a powerful, exciting movie with wonderful acting and powerful reconciliations as well as many wonderful, heartfelt scenes of reconciliation and miraculous overcoming. Best of all, THE LAST RODEO has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. It has multiple references to God the Father, with characters talking about Him openly. There are also multiple instances of reading the Bible and accepting God’s grace. However, THE LAST RODEO has violent bull riding scenes, a fight in a bar, three very light obscenities. So, MOVIEGUIDE® commends THE LAST RODEO with a light caution.

THE LAST RODEO is now streaming exclusively for Angel Guild Members.