Neal McDonough’smovies and TV shows prove that he is an actor who has a wide range when it comes to playing his roles, although he seems to fit in well as a villain most of the time. McDonough got his start in acting after giving up a baseball career to study theater at Syracuse. He began his career with small roles in some very popular properties, including the moviesDarkman, Angels in the Outfield,andStar Trek: First Contact, and TV shows likeQuantum LeapandJag.
However,McDonough got his true breakout when Steven Spielberg cast him in the HBO miniseriesBand of Brothers. Since that time, McDonough has enjoyed a consistent career in both movies and TV shows. He returned to work with Spielberg again forMinority Reportand even Clint Eastwood. However, he really made his name on television, where he has starred in several shows as a hero and a villain, including in two shows by Taylor Sheridan and aseries of shows in the DC Comics Arrowverse.
Tulsa King
Cast
Tulsa King follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, who, after 25 years in prison, is exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, by his boss. Faced with the possibility of betrayal, he assembles a crew of unlikely characters to establish a criminal empire in unfamiliar territory.
Yellowstonecreator Taylor Sheridan did something different with his mobster TV showTulsa King. While both series are about people doing bad things to stay on top, the Sylvester Stallone vehicle is about mobsters in Oklahoma rather than ranchers in Montana. However,one thing the two shows do share in common is the appearance of Neal McDonough. InTulsa King,McDonough joins the cast in season 2as Cal Thresher, a powerful businessman in Tulsa who crosses paths with Dwight Manfredi (Stallone) and his criminal empire.
Tulsa King Season 2’s Story Change Makes It The Exact Opposite Of Yellowstone
Tulsa King season 2 already looks very different from the first season of Stallone’s hit show, and it could be very different from Yellowstone too.
Tulsa Kinghasn’t reached the success ofYellowstone, but it remains a critically acclaimed series with one of Stallone’s best performances. While it remains to be seen how McDonough fits into the cast, there are high hopes that he matches the brilliance of the first season.Tulsa Kingseason 1 received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two nominations at the Critics' Choice Super Awards.
Suits
Suits is a legal drama series that premiered in 2011, centering on Mike Ross, a college dropout with a photographic memory who lands a job at a top New York law firm despite lacking a law degree. Partnering with one of the city’s best legal closers, Harvey Specter, they navigate the challenges of high-stakes cases and firm dynamics.
Suitswas a very popular lawyer series when it originally aired on network television. However, when it dropped on Netflix, it became it rocketed to the top of the viewership ratings for the streaming giant.Suitswas such a hit that it helped spawn a spinoff series,Suits L.A.The cast of the originalSuitsis the reason for its popularity, and one of the more important characters on the show was Neal McDonaugh as Sean Cahill. He was a prosecutor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
McDonough appeared in the sixth, eighth, and ninth seasons ofSuits.
Suitsis about a successful law firm that made the risky choice of hiring an attorney with no law degree and faking it. This led to many problems along the way, as the firm also had to deal with many enemies in high-profile court cases. Sean was originally an antagonist for Pearson Specter, but when Mike and Harvey convinced him that his superior Eric Woodall was corrupt, he became a trusted ally. McDonough appeared in the sixth, eighth, and ninth seasons ofSuits.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 family adventure film directed by Jeff Fowler, focusing on Sonic, a speedy blue hedgehog who teams up with a small-town sheriff. They work together to thwart the plans of the evil Dr. Robotnik, who seeks to exploit Sonic’s extraordinary abilities for global domination.
Neal McDonough is one of the supporting characters inSonic the Hedgehog,a movie that has developed the reputation as one of the best video game adaptations of all time. In the first movie,McDonough plays Major Bennington, a soldier tasked with assisting Dr. Robotnik(Jim Carrey) in his efforts to capture Sonic. This makes him an antagonist, but he was mostly a soldier following orders without knowing that Robotnik was the real villain of the story.
Sonic the Hedgehogis a movie about the titular alien, who is an anthropomorphic hedgehog with super-speed, sent to Earth for his own safety. However, when a villain known as Dr. Robotnik learns of his existence, he sets out to capture the hedgehog and exploit his powers for his own personal gain. While his commanding officer, Commander Walters, returned in the sequel, McDonough only appeared in the first movie. The film was a big success, making $319 million at the box office (viaBox Office Mojo).
Minority Report
In Minority Report’s utopian future, where murders can be predicted and prevented, police chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is accused of a crime he hasn’t committed and goes on the run to prove his innocence. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a Philip K. Dick short story, the 2002 sci-fi film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $350 million worldwide.
Steven Spielberg directed the sci-fi movieMinority Reportin 2002. Based on thenovel of the same name by Philip K. Dick.Minority Reporttakes place in a dystopian future where police use three psychics known as precogs to stop criminals before they can commit their crimes. The police mostly believe they are saving lives by arresting criminals before they do anything, but when the precogs claim one of the police officers will commit a murder, he goes on the run to clear his name.
Tom Cruise plays that officer, Chief John Anderton, and Colin Farrell plays the agent from the Department of Justice, tasked with bringing him in. McDonough another one of the Precrime Officers, Gordon “Fletch” Fletcher.The movie was a box office success, making $358.4 millionon a $102 million budget (viaBox Office Mojo). It also has a high 89% Rotten Tomatoes score and picked up an Oscar nomination for its Sound Editing.
Yellowstone
Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton, as they defend their expansive ranch against external threats from land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first national park. Released on July 05, 2025, this series examines the complex dynamics and violent conflicts surrounding the largest contiguous ranch in the United States.
Neal McDonough joined theYellowstonecast in the show’s second season.Yellowstoneis a Western series created by Taylor Sheridan that follows John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his family, who live on a ranch by a Native American reservation near Yellowstone National Park. Desperate to hold onto their land and power, the Duttons do anything they can to achieve their goals, by any means necessary.McDonough plays Malcolm Beck, a businessman and the brother of Teal Beck(Terry Serpico).
The Best Order To Watch Yellowstone & Its Many Spinoffs
The Yellowstone universe has begun to grow, sprouting several spinoff series which span several generations. Here’s the proper viewing order.
The two brothers come into direct conflict with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), head of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, and real estate developer Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston), who both had big plans to build a casino in the valley. However, the brothers made the mistake of forming a white supremacist militia and kidnapping John Dutton’s grandson, which led to their final battle with the Dutton family. Malcolm Beck is one ofTaylor Sheridan’s best villains, andYellowstoneseason 2 earned an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Justified
Justified: Justified is a character drama series based on Elmore Leonard’s 2001 short story “Fire in the Hole.” Premiering in 2010, it follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in Kentucky, as he navigates his high-stakes job and tumultuous relationships with his ex-wife and father.
Justifiedis a Western noir series based on the novels by Elmore Leonard. In the show, Timothy Olyphant plays Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshal who lives by his own brand of justice. When he is sent to work around his hometown of Harlan County in the Appalachian mountains, he comes into conflict with a criminal mastermind named Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), who pretends to be a white supremacist to hold his grasp on organized crime in the county. The series mostly follows their rivalry.
Neal McDonough joined theJustifiedcast in the third season as the main villain, Robert Quarles, a Tonin crime family lieutenant from Detroit who comes to Kentucky to collect on a debt. However, when he kills Dixie Mafia member Emmitt Arnett, he sets out to claim the territory for himself. Unfortunately for Qualres, he makes his biggest mistake when he tries to strong-arm Raylan. This season has a fantastic 96% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Damien Darhk
Arrowverse
The Arrowverse is a shared universe centered on multiple television series airing on The CW and web series based on characters from DC Comics. It began with Arrow in 2012 and expanded to include shows like The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow, creating a vast interconnected narrative that includes numerous crossovers and parallel universes.
Neal McDonough had a recurring role as a villain through several of the Arrowverse shows on The CW. The actor played Damien Darhk, an antagonist inArrow,The Flash, andDC’s Legends of Tomorrow. He got his start inArrow, where he was a former member of the League of Assassins, a group led by the villainous Ra’s al Ghul. He was also the former best friend and current nemesis of al Ghul, which means he wasan enemy to Oliver Queen and one of DC’s most dangerous villains.
He stole water from the Lazarus Pit and created his own organization called H.I.V.E., which made him just as dangerous to Oliver Queen, Sara Lance (White Canary), and all of their friends and allies. Like many comic book characters, Dahrk died and was resurrected, only to die and return again. This is how he kept popping up in other shows, likeThe Flash, and more prominently inLegends of Tomorrow,where he remained a nemesis for Sara.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger follows Steve Rogers, a frail man from Brooklyn transformed into the super-soldier Captain America during World War II. As he aids the war effort, Rogers confronts Red Skull, who seeks world domination through a powerful device for a nefarious organization.
Neal McDonough played a very important role in the MCU when he appeared inCaptain America: The First AvengerasTimothy “Dum Dum” Duggan, one of the Howling Commandos, a military commando team that fought alongside Captain America as he laid siege to the Red Skull’s base of operations. While most soldiers in World War II saw Cap as a joke thanks to his role as a celebrity, Duggan and his team both respected and fought by his side to the end.
Dum Dum Duggan in the comics is a huge part of Captain America’s history. While the team in the movie was an ally of Cap, it was really only Duggan who showed how close and important they were to help him in this big battle to stop Hydra and the Nazis and bring down the threat of a worldwide catastrophe. McDonough returned as Duggan inAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.andMarvel’s Agent Carter. He also voiced the character in the Disney+ seriesWhat If…?
Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers is a war film directed by Clint Eastwood, based on the book by James Bradley and Ron Powers. The movie recounts the Battle of Iwo Jima, focusing on the iconic photograph of the flag raising and the soldiers involved. Through a series of flashbacks, it delves into the personal and collective experiences of the men who became symbolic heroes, examining both their wartime actions and post-war lives.
In 2006, Clint Eastwood took on a massive task: directing two movies and releasing them concurrently. One wasFlags of Our Fathers, which told the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II from the United States' point of view. The other wasLetters from Iwo Jima, which told the story from the Japanese viewpoint.Letters from Iwo Jimawas seen as the better film, but both were really solid war movies. Neal McDonough appeared inFlags of Our Fathers.
10 War Movies That Showed Both Sides Of The War
War movies that didn’t shy away from revealing the perspectives of both sides of the conflict are typically also lauded for their historical accuracy.
This movie has three US servicemen reflecting on their experiences during the battle. McDonough plays someone who was part of the battle but was not one of those three. He plays Captain Dave Severance, who survives the event.He was the commanding officer of Easy Company, and he left his company into the Battle of Iwo Jima, where he ordered them to scale the summit and raise the flag.While a box office disappointment,Flags of Our Fatherslanded on many top 10 lists that year.
Band of Brothers
Band of Brothers is a 2001 HBO miniseries chronicling Easy Company’s experiences from paratrooper training to World War II’s end. It portrays their participation in pivotal battles such as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s book and first-hand accounts from surviving members.
One of the best war genre releases in Hollywood historywas made for HBO. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks created the miniseriesBand of Brothers, based on the nonfiction by Stephen E. Ambrose. This was a miniseries following East Company, and it dramatized the training and participation in the Western Front of World War II. The book was written based on interviews conducted with members of Easy Company. It was also a miniseries that saw a ton of young actors getting big breaks.
Acting talent who appeared in the miniseries include Michael Cuditz, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, David Schwimmer, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fassbender, Dominic Cooper, Jimmy Fallon, Colin Hanks, Tom Hardy, James McAvoy, Simon Pegg, and Neal McDonough — many of which appeared before they hit it big in movies.McDonough starred as real-life soldier Buck Compton, a soldier who went on to become an attorney and a judge later in life.Band of Brotherswon seven Emmys with 20 nominations.
