- Feb 5, 2002
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When Neal McDonough was first asked to play the devil in a new movie, he turned it down.
“I can’t play Lucifer,” the 57-year-old actor, a Catholic, remembered saying. “That’s just too dark.”
McDonough, who has starred in movies from “Minority Report” to “Captain America: The First Avenger” and TV shows from “Boomtown” to “Yellowstone,” has embraced the villain role before. But the devil, he said, gave him pause.
His wife, Ruvé, changed his mind. After they prayed about it, she encouraged him to take the part, saying that he was the best man for the job as a talented big-screen villain and as someone with one of the best relationships with God in Hollywood.
That’s how McDonough became “The Benefactor” in “The Shift,” a modern retelling of the book of Job that hit theaters in December and is available for streaming online. The film from Angel Studios follows protagonist Kevin Garner (Kristoffer Polaha) as he searches for his wife and refuses to give up hope or his faith after a peculiar adversary — the Benefactor — places him in an alternate dystopian reality.
Following the filming, McDonough spoke with Our Sunday Visitor about his enthusiasm for his latest role and its impact on his faith, his passion for acting, his refusal to do sex scenes, and his love for God and his family.
“My faith is everything,” he said. “God first, me second. Family first, me second. Those are the tenants we live by in our house.”
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
“I can’t play Lucifer,” the 57-year-old actor, a Catholic, remembered saying. “That’s just too dark.”
McDonough, who has starred in movies from “Minority Report” to “Captain America: The First Avenger” and TV shows from “Boomtown” to “Yellowstone,” has embraced the villain role before. But the devil, he said, gave him pause.
His wife, Ruvé, changed his mind. After they prayed about it, she encouraged him to take the part, saying that he was the best man for the job as a talented big-screen villain and as someone with one of the best relationships with God in Hollywood.
That’s how McDonough became “The Benefactor” in “The Shift,” a modern retelling of the book of Job that hit theaters in December and is available for streaming online. The film from Angel Studios follows protagonist Kevin Garner (Kristoffer Polaha) as he searches for his wife and refuses to give up hope or his faith after a peculiar adversary — the Benefactor — places him in an alternate dystopian reality.
Following the filming, McDonough spoke with Our Sunday Visitor about his enthusiasm for his latest role and its impact on his faith, his passion for acting, his refusal to do sex scenes, and his love for God and his family.
“My faith is everything,” he said. “God first, me second. Family first, me second. Those are the tenants we live by in our house.”
Change in ‘The Shift’
Continued below.
Actor Neal McDonough talks faith after filming new movie
“My faith is everything,” Neal McDonough told Our Sunday Visitor. “God first, me second. Family first, me second. Those are the tenants we live by in our house.” Read about his role as the devil in the new movie, “The Shift.”
www.oursundayvisitor.com
