By Mallory Mattingly
THE LAST RODEO star Neal McDonough sat down with Movieguide®’s Jeremy Carroll and Robby Baehr to discuss how he balances work and family life.
“It’s difficult as an actor because you don’t know when and where you’re going next,” McDonough said on the “We Who Dad” podcast. “But we just make it work. I’m blessed because I have my wife, and she’s incredible at organizing all kinds of amazing things. So when I’m away, I’m away. But there’s a lot of FaceTime. After a few days, the kids get tired of it. That’s why I have a rule of one week max. I have to come back after a week or else I start to get cranky.”
“I miss the chaos of the family,” he added. “I miss just seeing [wife] Ruve every day and the kids and driving to school or seeing their practice or going to their games and all the stuff that we dads love to do.”
He continued, “Spending a whole weekend in a gym for several different games for a bunch of different kids is pretty awesome. Sometimes I’m coaching, sometimes I’m just watching, and I love that. That’s my favorite part about my life.”
“I love acting — I love it to death. It’s the greatest job. It’s the only job I’ve ever had and I love it, but it’s a deep second place compared to family and God,” McDonough declared. “Family first, me second. God first, me second. Those are the tenets we live by.”
Family and faith even take centerstage in his latest movie THE LAST RODEO.
“THE LAST RODEO has been in the theatres for two weeks…friends if you haven’t seen it yet…find a theatre near you,” McDonough and Ruve wrote on Instagram. “We are so extremely proud, after 25 years together, to have finally written our own film, produce it, cast it, star in it together, and cameos for all 5 of our kids, with the best cast and crew.
Related: Neal McDonough Breaks His No-Kissing Rule? Here’s the Sweet Reason Why
“Those smiles on our faces are permanent, we just feel so truly blessed to have made this passion project and see it being so well received. A feel-good family film,” they added.
THE LAST RODEO follows a “retied rodeo legend,” played by McDonough, who “risks it all to save his grandson. Facing his own painful past and the fears of his family, he enters a high-stakes bull-riding competition as the oldest contestant ever. Along the way, he reconciles old wounds with his estranged daughter and proves that true courage is found in the fight for family,” the official logline for the film reads.
Though Neal McDonough loves to act, his family and faith will always come first.
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