¶ Intro / Opening
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¶ Podcast Intro and Neal's Career
Movie Crypt! And welcome to another edition of the Movie Crypt. I'm Adam Green. I'm Joe Lynch. This conversation that you're about to hear with the great Neil McDonough was actually recorded way back. On Thursday, January twenty ninth. two thousand twenty six. You hear her say it every week, but the reason why
Every episode you're hearing was recorded many weeks ago is because we are making sure that we have new episodes for you every week while we're both in production. At the time that we're recording this intro, neither one of us has left yet. Both of us were told we were probably leaving before this, so you know. You've heard the show. You know how it goes. You know how it does it goes, man. God damn it. This is a pretty special conversation. Uh not only is Neil a friggin'
Like he's in everything. I mean ever over a hundred and fifty one credits and that's just like the stuff that has probably been recorded. He's been in the game since The early nineties. No, actually the very early nineties with a very particular movie that, you know, sometimes you always want to throw the deep cuts out there to see their reaction or whatever. Um his first movie, well you'll find out in the episode before we can even introduce him.
He knew. He knew that I was gonna talk about this one. And uh and the stories in that are fantastic. But Neil's one of those actors who has kind of uh traversed every genre. He's been in drama, he's been in action, sci fi, comedy, westerns,
Uh he's done it all. He's obviously, you know, an actor, but he's also a writer and producer as well. You know, the guy does it all, man. Yeah, and he's just sincere nice guy and I feel like this is the type of conversation that will do everyone a little good right now to just be distracted by somebody who Extremely positive and kind but but means it.
Um, I just I think you guys are gonna like this. One thing to pay attention to, you know both of us tend to have potty mouths. Once we realize Neil doesn't swear, watch the way we clean up our act without even discussing it. But But two important things that we should point out. First of all, Neil is in our good friend Darren Lynn Bowsman's new movie Twisted, starring our other good friend, Lauren Livera, which is now available for rental or purchase digitally.
Also, when we arranged this conversation with Neil, it was several weeks beforehand, and when the day came, he actually had to go to set. But he still gave us an hour and he gave us so much in this hour. We wish it could have been longer, but hopefully Neil will be back. For Yorkython or just another episode at some point in the future. Okay, so our next guest. On paper, I would say. Maybe one of the most hardest working actor, producer, writers in the industry. Um, I can go
I can go back and and roll off over a hundred and fifty-one titles, but we'll be here all fucking day. Uh everything from TV, you got NYPD Blue, Murphy Brown, Murder One, Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Justified, Arrow, Lone Star. Tulsa King, which I love him in, just the the the bare minimum of the movies. Star Trek First Contact, Ravenous, Minority Report, Walking Tall, 88 Minutes, Captain America First Avenger, Last Rodeo, which he also wrote and produced.
Uh his new film Twisted is coming out with our good friend Darren Bowsman. But I like to say that the raison d'etre of his career thus far No, before you say before you say it, can I guess it?
¶ Darkman Role and Hyannis Roots
You know what? Yes, you can guess it. I always love this. Being that you're film geeks like I am, and that you love different type of cinema and different types of genres and just something fresh and different, I'm going ravenous. Dude, okay, I have a story about Ravenus. A really good story, but my favorite role of yours is Doc Worker Number Two in Dark Man. Okay. Just putting it out there right now. Okay, so so so here's this here's the story with Doc Worker Number Two. And my brother Bob.
back in Hyannis, Massachusetts, where I'm from, was so proud that I had one line in a movie that he had this thing called the Advan, and he would drive all over town saying, Guido Murphy's two for once tonight, prime rib dinner is 995. And for two weeks straight, instead instead of advertising all the restaurants and making money He advertised Go See Dark Men starring my brother Neil McDonough as dark worker number two. Yes. Now now now hold on. Now hold on. It gets better.
So we go to Hyannis, we go to the cinema and it's just packed with all my buddies and relatives and so on and so forth. And I and I preface it by saying, I die in the first minute of the film, but nobody cares. So we we get to the theater and there I am. Before Sam Raimi's name comes up as directed by my line, bunch of cuties, huh? I get mowed down with bullets.
As soon as that happens, everyone knew, everyone stood up, we walked across the street to the pub. I've still never seen Dark Men. Hey, guess what everybody? Please welcome Neil McDonough. Um all right, you just brought up Hyannis. Uh so I grew up there in the summers uh at Craigville Beach. So the best. Uh I anytime I speak to anybody who's familiar with their so you must know four C's ice cream.
Oh my gosh. We're we were just, you know, we were back home for Christmas and our you know, our local convenience store in Barnesville Village. stocks in the wintertime, pints and pints and pints of Forsy's ice cream. I think I gained seven pounds just eating a four C's ice cream for two weeks straight. It's it's Mr Mr Warren who was my gang counselor, all my buddies who worked there, everything that was our hang.
You know, you make Adam makes fun of me all the time whenever there's someone from New York and I'm like, Where's your favorite place to get pizza? Where's the best movie theater? Hyannis, Centerville. Oh, New England very New England pizza. New England pizza is the best pizza on the planet. My friend Nick owns the place, he's been there forever. Greatest pizza on the planet. So good. See, living in LA, I still miss Papaginos. I know Papaginos is awesome. It's so good.
I spent so much time there as a kid with the little jukebox at your tables and everything else. It was it's unbelievable. Well, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you very much. We're gonna talk about Cape Cod for the next hour. That's I know, I know.
Um, so I know we have a limited time, um, but just kind of going back to the beginning kind of briefly, when did you realize this was what you wanted to do? Like entertainment and and not just as like a hobby because it was fun, but make it your career. Well when I was a kid, you know, I was the youngest of of six, and all my brothers were stud athletes, valedictori, all this stuff.
¶ Discovering Acting, Mother's Support
And they they were a tight group. There was you know, five of them were born within seven years. And then five years later I came along as and as my mother always said, Son, you're the greatest mistake I ever made. And and and so I had to figure out what I wanted to be. And I loved baseball and I was really good at it. I loved hockey. I was really good at it.
But I d still didn't know exactly what was my thing to carve my own niche type of thing. And I tried out for every play from first grade through eighth grade.
And the most I ever got was a tree and another play I was a tooth. That was it. But I was the best tree you've ever seen. I mean, I was unbelievable. But but but no one gave me a shot at the title. And then finally I went to high school and I auditioned for Your Good Man Charlie Brown and my my mom Buster Soul was was a really good piano player and we we practiced some of the songs before the audition.
So I went into the audition and John Sullivan, who I owe so much of my life and career to because he took a shot on this this kid.
I auditioned. He goes, Wow, that was really great. Where are you from? I said, I'm from Hyannis. He goes, Well, how come I've never seen you in any of the plays? I'm like, I know. I'm I think I'm pretty good. And he's like, No, you're really good. He goes, How do you you want to play Snoopy? I'm like, I would love to play Snoopy and you know, there I was playing Snoopy in the first night on stage.
When they gave me the music cue, I crapped my pants. I literally froze on stage. And the whole audience laughed because they thought it was me hamming it up. They did the music cue again, I froze again. And I'm and now now the audience is like, Is it is it funny or is
He really dying on stage. And then I looked in the front row and I signed my mom and she gave me a big thumb thumbs up and I sang the song to my mom and I got a standing ovation. And at that moment, at that moment after I was on stage, I was like, oh. Oh, I think this is it. I think this is the God-given talent that I've been looking for.
And after that, the only job I've ever really had is is as an actor. You know, in in thirty five years of being in Hollywood, it's it's just been job after job after job and you know ups and downs, sure, but you know, it's been what a blessing that that you know, the the career that I've had, you know, from this, you know, chunky, freckly, red haired kid from Hyannis, Massachusetts.
being the villain de jour for the last twenty years in Hollywood and now finally getting to write and produce and star alongside my wife and finally playing the good guys in our films. It's it's just been an incredible ride and and and I'm the luckiest SOB that I know. It's so funny though how well, first off, it used to be like just picture everyone in their underwear, like you know, just that'll get your nerves over in theater. Now it should be like
Just think your mom is right there, and that's who's watching you. And sometimes that's the sort of thing that focuses you. And you know, and and to be honest, I think you know, I I can't a attest to Adam as well, but sometimes that F like that family validation because Whether they supported you and you want to just show like look.
all of that, you know, all that um dedication to me doing what I wanted to do pays off. Or on the flip side, if your parents were like, No, no, don't do that. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, or just get a you know, get a um a serviceable job that will be able to make ends meet. It's almost a way to be like, now I wanna show you that like you were wrong in a way. But still t two sides of that coin To be able to share with your parents that like
This this is what you want to do sometimes goes so far for people. So for you to be able to see your mom and have that connection with her, so that you can that that's sometimes that's all you need. And That's the sort of thing that you end up chasing the rest of your life. Like my my first audience reaction you ever get, the first laugh, the first applause. True addictive. But like for me, when I um my first movie was this like Fox directed video film called Wrong Turn to Dead End.
And, you know, was not supposed to be in the theaters and yet it made it like ended up doing like this festival run and playing in a couple theaters here and there when it first came out. But my dad, who was never really the biggest A movie fan, B, he was always like, Oh, come on, can't you take over the family business? My mom was the Cinephile and she was the one who was like, No, no, go off and do your thing. Um, she was very supportive of it. It wasn't until one of our friends videotaped
my family coming out of the theater when they did a screening of the movie in New York City. I wasn't there unfortunately, but my family was there and a friend of mine shot my parents coming out. And you know, my dad was so used to because he he um he owned a a small business in Long Island where they customized cars. Which meant that I had to be there every Saturday at least or all summers working for
This is that we we had an identical childhood. It like but like and and the whole time where he was like grooming me to be like the heir apparent to the automotive trick throne. I was sneaking Fangoria magazines in the card catalog so that I'd be like, Oh yeah, that's exactly what I'm looking at. I'm like, oh my god, there's a new Evil Dead movie. That's right. That's right. But but the feeling that I got when my friend sent this video and my dad was walking out
And he looks at the camera and he goes, Joey, you fucked up. Like was the best validation I could have ever had. And I've been chasing that ever since.
¶ Discipline: From Home to Hollywood
And we need that sometimes, you know? You do. Y y y you do. It's you know, picking a career in the arts, I was fortunate. Both my parents are from Ireland and and You know, if we I grew up in a small motel in Cape Cod, the the Rainbow Motel, and I worked that bad boy from the in time I was two to the time I was twenty four till I left for Hollywood.
And and my dad groomed me to take over the motel business. And and but at a young age if I sat down in a chair for more than a minute, my dad would make me go dig a ditch or bring a refrigerator to a room or mow the lawn or do something.
The only time he would leave me alone is if I was outside shooting pucks into the wall or throwing baseballs into the wall. So hockey and baseball were everything to me. And that was my out because I could throw balls for three hours into the wall. My dad would leave me alone, but as soon as I stopped, He c he he just forced discipline on me. And that discipline through sport and the discipline of working for my dad.
really prepared me for the discipline of Hollywood because you can be a great actor, but if you don't have the discipline to show up on time, know your lines, go ball yard every single time, you're not going to keep working. So I'm blessed that I had r you know, parents who who believed in me but really pressed work hard and great g if my my dad said when you go to Hollywood, if they give you one dollar, give them two dollars worth of F.
And I've prided myself on on giving three dollars worth of effort and four dollars worth of effort because I don't wanna let anybody down. And I don't wanna let him down, I don't wanna let my mom down, I don't wanna let God down, I don't wanna let the audiences down. Svenska ostklasiker finns med på prickarna när du fyller år, på BB efter förlossningen och i vardagen när alltid precis som vanligt. En liten del av det stora och en stor del av det lilla.
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¶ Return to LA, Mother's Legacy
So okay, so you're twenty-two when you moved here to LA. Twenty-four. What did you did you know, did you have a job lined up, people that you knew? Like what did you do when you arrived? No, I came out in the back of a truck. I had two hundred bucks in my pocket uh and I had a job, you know, I I went to the Beverly Center and got a job at a restaurant first before I even had an apartment. I stayed on the floor of Yeah, a friend's friend's apartment for the first
week or two and then I made some money and then I put down payment on this, oh my gosh, this flea infested, horrible but fantastic, my first apartment away from home uh in East Hollywood. And the first week I was there, Seven people got shot right in front of my building in, you know, gang violence. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. Oh my gosh. And I didn't last in Hollywood I yeah, I didn't last in Hollywood very long. I was like, I I don't think I can do this.
And I went back home for the summer, worked for my mom and dad, and I was there for about six months and my mom was like, It's time for you to go back out and chase your dream and I went back out and I auditioned for Uh, you know, a friend of mine had saw an open call for Lou Gehrig in the Babe Ruth story. And, you know, I was a college baseball player, so I I flew out to Hollywood and auditioned for it and I got the part.
And after that and then I did a pla audition for this Irish play and I won you know, the Best Actor of the Year on for the Drama Logue Awards and all of a sudden things started flying. But there was a chunk of me that just missed Cape Cod and I missed my parents and I missed home. So I went home again for another six months or so.
And then uh then my mom passed away. And I I knew what I had to do and I went back to Hollywood and auditioned for Angels in the Outfield and got the part and I paid him my hair red and I at that point I was like, okay, I have zero fear now. If you don't like what I do, that's fine, but I'm doing it for myself. I'm doing it as as as an artist, as Oscar Wilde says, art is absolutely useless to anyone but the artist themselves.
And if you create for your own and create to be part of a team, great things will happen. And the first take, oh my gosh, the first take on angels in the outfield. So they had boot camp for two weeks and after two days, Carney Lansford and the other pros are like, No, you you don't need to be here. Go you can you can play ball, you can do whatever you want. And I went back to my hotel room and for hours I would work on stupid shtick that would steal focus and steal scenes in the movie.
And I came up with this idea. And my first shot, there I am at Oakland Municipal Stadium. Ten thousand fans are there. And and in the script it says, Whit Bass throws pitch. That's it. That was it for the in the in the movie, basically. There was no nothing else for Whit Bass. And I go to the director, I said, um, I've got a great idea. Can you just follow me with the camera? I'm gonna do something really kinda funny. I know you're gonna like it.
The director looks at me and goes, what? Are you are you out of your mind? No, no, we we we have a schedule here. I'm like, just trust me. All I'm asking is one take. And if you don't like it, I'll never ask you again. And he stares at me and he turns and goes, all right, boys, follow Neil for one shot, and then we're moving on. And I slide into the mound and I circle the mound and I grab the rosin bag and I kinda bless myself and I do and I hold on my glove for the first pitch.
10,000 fans went crazy. Bill Deere said, you can do whatever you damn well please for the rest of this movie. Keep it up. And I kept doing all this shticky, you know, he sets, he sets, he sets again. And I just made up all these great things for myself. Knowing that my mom wanted me to be out here. She was everything to me in my life. And I was gonna make sure that she was gonna be happy and heaven watching me do this role. And Angels in the outfield is still, you know, m you know
Last Rodeo is my favorite film that I've ever done because I did it with Rivay and myself, and we wrote and reproduced and started together. But there's something about Angels in the Outfield that was my first film. Yeah, you know, first part really, you know, bunch of cuties in Darkman doesn't really count. Um and and that was that that's that's what started my career and I got my agent from because of that and lawyers because of that. And I've been with the same lawyers ever since then.
Um my mom's always over there, my overwatching and And then and then life progressed and here I am. And then finally, you know, years later, seven years later, I met the thing that really catapulted me and gave me even more confidence in myself.
to go for it and have no fear. Uh you know, I'll be here for you. I'll be there. Like I always say I I can walk through life with one hand tied behind my back as long as the other hand is being held by my wife Revee. And I don't know where the heck I would be in my life. as a dad, as a husband, as an actor, as a man, as a child of God, without my best friend and in love of my life, Revee, because
She to me is my everything. And uh I I certainly wouldn't be on this Zoom with you guys talking about my career if it weren't for my wife and my mom.
¶ His Wife, Reve: A Life Anchor
You're gonna make me cry. I know. God damn it. Because both of us have, you know, like wait a minute. I'm supposed to be the villain in Hollywood. I'm not supposed to be nice.
¶ Kind Villains and Bill Deere
The villains are always the best people. They're the best, the nicest people. Like every I don't know if you've done a lot of like the the horror cons or the genre cons. But you know, we've done them a lot through our films and whenever you get to meet the guy who played Jason, the guy who played Freddie, the guy who's like Art the Clown now. Is there anyone nicer on the planet than Tobin Bell?
Oh my god, he's the greatest. Oh my god, he's the greatest a sweetheart. Any any of those guys of humor, so kind of Bill Mosley, yeah, like some of the nicest people in the world, but I think sometimes Like and I I've talked about this with, you know, some of them when in our trials and tribulations. And, you know, you sit there and you go, how do you get to tap in to that evil? And it's it's mainly because it's like because I get the safe space.
to go into that darkness, but ultimately at the end I still have a good heart and I I focus on that. But that allows me to go, I can dip my toe into that and because it's play. And by doing that, by seeing themselves, you know, in a vulnerable situation, it allows them to cherish.
the you know, having that heart and having a sense of humor and, you know, being able to cherish the good things in life and not, you know, kind of dwell into the nefarious elements, you know. I I wanted to mention one thing. I met Bill Deere Um, it's funny enough, on the set of that first movie I did back in 2006, he was doing Sandlot 2. And uh and I was doing wrong turn two'cause we were all in like this
F this is when Fox was making a shitload of like direct to video films and everything. And, you know, Bill Deere to me was not only Angels in the in the outfield, but he did Harry and the Henderson. Harry the Henderson. And I was like
So enamored by him because I had to deal with like a man in suit situation. So we were both in like the same production company and I got to sit down with him for a little bit. And just the sweetest dude in the world, but also someone who's like, I d I give no shits about, you know, the The the the bullshit, you know, the the bullshit side of it, you know. And and this was my first movie. I'm like, I'm supposed to absorb all this bullshit. Bill is and he's just amazing. Bill's amazing.
¶ Acting Philosophy, Twisted Insights
Normally we would just kind of keep going through your career, but because we know I've already looked at a bunch of the questions we have from our audience and that's going to cover your career, we want to jump to your latest, which is twisted. And uh you're actually not well wait, I shouldn't say don't say it's fine. It's fine. Uh but you you're not a villain. And that you think you're No, I'm not.
But you're not. That must have been a uh a nice feeling when you got to that part of the script the first time you read it. Like, oh really? The the movies that Rave and I are producing, you know, with Angel Studios, I've played good guys, I've played villains, and and and I like I like to mix it up. I'm I'm like a shark. I like to just feed on different places. I don't like to sit in one place for too long. I g yeah I'm not sure
I'm not sure if it's the A D D in me or whatever the case it is, but I I I like to play different characters. I like to stretch it. I like to I don't like I don't want the audience to think, Oh, that's the same thing McDonough's doing the same thing. That's why I don't watch any of my stuff unless I have to. I don't like to watch what I've done because I don't want to steal from one character or some I always like my characters to be organic and different. They all kind of look the same.
But the thought process is you know, I keep my hair the same, I keep my looks the same and it's just my thought process changes from character to character. So when it comes to like Twisted, Mark Berg, who's a great friend of mine who produced all the saw films, he goes, Hey, do me a favor, I want you to be in this film with Jim and Hansu. I'm like, hey, great. I love Jayman. And
We did a you know, and I had a fantastic time doing twist. And I think it I it's it's a pretty awesome, cool film. But Jaimond is one of those guys that He's he's so talented. And he he's he's so different looking and striking on screen.
that I know I'm very different looking and striking on screen. Something happens to me when you put lights in front of me, my eyes pop and everything everything works. But walking down the street, I think I just look like a normal guy. But something happens on screen that I pop. It's the same thing with Gymon. The same thing with with a lot of actors. You look at them during the day and you're like, oh that's interesting. But when they get on camera, something happens.
Uh and to work alongside him was just so much fun. And and that's what I love. I love playing with great actors, mixing it up, getting in the sandbox, kicking dirt at each other, see what works, see what doesn't work, and trying new things. to keep the audience on on their toes and think, ooh, that was cool. And, you know, this genre is a genre that I haven't been so part of. This next film that we that we just we're we're filming, we're almost film finished filming now, called Exalted.
I play this positive thinking guru. who who his wife cheats on him uh and his split personality comes out. And he is a nutbag and it's it was so much fun to play the good guy and the bad guy in a piece. And it was it was something I've never really done before.
You know, it's a far cry from a lot of the films that I've been doing. But again, you know, you go to Tulsa King, you go to Yellowstone, I like playing characters. I like playing different characters. And then go to Last Rodeo where I'm the like the ultimate good guy hero. In the next film the next two films I'm the ultimate good guy hero again.
¶ Personal Faith and Last Rodeo
Uh, If I think about it too much, I get so humbled by the gifts that God has given to me and having to go through some trials and tribulations in my life. through uh hard knocks that have come my way, through fighting through alcohol, through fighting through all kinds of stuff, and I'm on the other side of it.
I'm so thankful for those times where I got beaten up and I got crucified a bit because unless you get crucified a bit, you never really get called out as to who you are. And I got called out to who I am and I'm if I'm gonna live a life that God's going to be proud of me, then I actually have to live that life. And I it's I I'm just so blessed. I it's it's hard to even put into words.
I be but actually I have one question about uh well not not one, but I I thought like it was so refreshing to see in the last rodeo, which really does feel like The way that you would see like Clint doing these certain movies that felt so personal to him, like um, you know, uh Uh it's a lot of like the earlier 80s movies, like, oh god, what was it? Um, not Honeysuckle Rose, but like there was this one movie that he did where
He was like a carnival barker and it was like obvious I'm I gotta look it up, but um not MIFT, uh what was it? Um Oh, it's gonna kill me now. I I know what you mean though. But you know which movie I'm talking about, and I'm gonna look it up in a second. But um, you know, this was one of the films that you were, you know, clearly shepherding as a producer, you know, you all also as a writer and stuff. Um
I knew that you had worked with John Avnett as a that's a director. That's one of those guys that like I Always high uh holding high regard because he has done everything. And I know that he worked with you on a bunch of movies. Like w eighty eight minutes, I know he you know you were in that as well as a bunch of other Eighty Minutes Justified. Yeah, like episodes are justified.
When you have a movie that that is not only this personal, but one where, you know, there there is a very clear, earnest tone to it. It's tapping into Americana. It's tapping into faith.
How do you find the like bringing on a director that's going to be able to highlight you in the best ways possible? And, you know, you've you've worked with everybody, you know, like Spielberg on down and When you have someone like John Avnet who has done both film and TV, but like what was it about his work or what was it about his personality that cause there were times that I like when I was watching it, honestly
I thought it was you that was directing. And maybe for all intents and purposes, when you're the writer-producer, you know, you do have such a firm hold on the feel of the movie, the gravitas of the movie. What was it about John's work that said that made you say, I'm going to bring you into the fold? Well, he's my mentor in life. You know, you know, he really is. There there's I wouldn't be here where I am, you know, at this moment again without great mentors in my life.
John Sullivan from high school, my mom, Revee, but the the you know, Steven Spielberg has been instrumental in getting me to where I am in my life.
But John Evnet was the one who fought for me to be in Boomtown. He's the one who knew after I went through all these struggles, he was the one who got me on Justified. And I crushed it for John and everybody else on Justified. And then even then eighty eight minutes and then Yeah, we we've talked so much over the years that I said, Okay, I wrote this film, then there's only one person who's gonna direct it and it's you And he said, Okay.
Do you want to know what it is? Not really. If you're at starting at your right end, then go. I've got this. You know, yeah. And then I gave him the script and it's like, oh my gosh. And it was so personal to me because the whole idea was what would happen to me if anything ever happened to my wife, Rivae? And it just just crushed me one day. And I and I this, you know, everyone knows a story. I I pulled over to the side of the road as I was doing a Western the the the warranty.
And, you know, there I was just looking at horses out there and everything else. And I just voice dictated the script into my phone over about two or three hours. And then I sent it off to my writing partner the next day, and he's like, This is a this is so different from what we've been writing for the last couple of years. Where'd this come from? And I told him, and he goes, This is unbelievable.
And within a week we had a draft done and within another week we had it financed. And within another week we had John Abnet saying, Okay, and it just g God put me on this path and To have John direct me, i it it people will freak out when they see when they come to set to see John directing me. Because almost no words are said. It's it's there there is one take. Where uh and after every take goes up. Great, moving on. Fantastic. Moving on. Great. Moving on. One take.
There's this five second pause and he looks at me and I look at him and he stares at me again. I'm like, yep, I get it. Didn't say anything, and I did the next take. And he goes, yes, that's exactly what I want. There's something to John's direction that we we there's like this sympathy, there's this thing that this deep understanding for each other as men and as filmmakers that we have that most actor directors don't have, you know, I'm sure.
Y you know, there there are some. I I'm sure Leo and Score says he have it, you know, there there's certain things, but John and I have this thing and he's directing our next film, a New York Minute, which we start in in in April.
¶ Embracing Heroic Leading Roles
that it just works. And the last rodeo was The easiest film I've ever shot and the most difficult film I've ever shot at the same time, not trying not to break down every scene with emotion because I'm a very, very naturally emotional guy. That's that's why I'm an actor. You know, I'll cry at an Irish spring commercial on the television. You know, I'm just clean as a whistle.
Shraster Dot Serium, sweet surprises. You know all the Irish commercials, I love'em all. My wife is Irish and so I'm like, So did you guys use Irish Spring there? She of course had never heard of it. And I showed so they just called it spring. I just showed both commercials.
Because they offended us so much. The bad accents on those commercials. Oh, those commercials, not even close. Yes. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible. Um, but that that's just, you know, th I'm a pretty tough guy, but you know, I've I've got a big heart underneath it all and Uh I I love you know, finally in my career because I wouldn't kiss another woman.
I get to play the hero that I've always wanted to play. I get to play the John Wayne characters. I get to play the Clint Eastwood characters. I get to play the Paul Newmans or the Robert Redfords. I'm I'm finally getting my shot at the title and I'm not going to relinquish this belt. I'm going to keep this belt around my waist. And I'm gonna keep on working my butt off to make sure that God is proud of what I'm doing, that my wife is proud of what I'm doing and
The audience is happy with what I'm doing. One more question about Twisted before we get to the audience questions. With a script like that, when you read it and it could be shot a number of ways, because there's some pretty uh graphic and gory things going on. Did you have questions about how that stuff was going to be depicted when you first talked to Darren about it? Or and like concerns you brought up to the producers? Like, okay, like how far are you going with
¶ Twisted's Vision and Production
Not not really. You know, it's it's not my job as an actor to really question the director or the producer. It's to show up and be a piece of clay for them. So I I'm really malleable. That's that's just that's just my technique. Know my lines, know my my character, know inside and out, and show up on set ready to rumble for whatever the director or the producer, director in particular, wants me to do.
And when you get a visionary like Darren, who's who's crushed in in the genre, when you see this film, he knows how to direct, he knows how to film so well and make shots so interesting and put you on the edge throughout a whole film. that I knew as soon as I got to set I was like, oh, oh, this is gonna be cool. And just j the set designs.
So the makeup to everything and and it it was I I knew when I got there this was gonna be just just a fun project to be part of. And you know, Lauren and all I have the first scene I came in is Lauren with her makeup and you know I'm not gonna give the story away and I walk in and I'm like oh my gosh. This is this is A, this is one of the scariest things I've ever seen, but B, it's shot and lit and the makeup was so phenomenal.
that as an actor you get so excited. And I got so excited doing this film with Darren and and and for Mark Berg, who's, you know, one of the most prolific producers in Hollywood. So it was it was really a treat for me.
¶ Ravenous: Cult Classic Journey
All right, let's uh go to some of the questions that we're not gonna be able to get to all of these guys, but some of the questions that you guys had for Neil and everyone's second favorite part of the movie grip. Viewer mail. All right, this is from Greg. Hello, Adam, Joe, and Neil. Legit love your work and love what you bring to each and every project. And if it hasn't been touched upon, could you give us a taste of your experience working with Antonia Byrd and her film Raven?
Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding that score was just Unbelievable. Antonia Byrd had the, you know, it was tough because she was Milchow Manchewski was the first director. And after a couple of weeks of filming, Milk Chow would wouldn't talk to Lawrence Z he was like, I'm not talking to Fox, uh stay out of my way. This is my film. I'm not even taking your phone call.
Oh wow. And it kind of and he kind of self-imploded because of it. But what Milcho was filming was just amazing. Like amazing stuff. And they scrapped it all and they brought in another director and there was a complete mutiny. Uh this director was a phenomenal director, but this wasn't his genre. He was a comedic director.
And um Bobby Carlisle was like, This isn't gonna happen and this was weeks of us in the Czech Republic w wondering, Are we gonna film again? Is it all over? Are we using the old footage? We started from scratch. And finally he says, I want Antonia Byrd to come in and do this. And she got the job. And thank the Lord she did. Because what she did to to have a woman's point of view with a bunch of nutty guys, you know, these characters were nuts. She figured out how to make it so entertaining.
And so awesome and so truthful in her approach to each and every character. Like each character is flushed out. It wasn't just Bobby and Guy who's who who who'd taken all the scene. It's everyone. You know, Jeffrey Jones was so good in it. Um Arquette, everyone was everyone just came in and and and really they had a great leader. And that was Antonia Byrd.
uh the one shot where I'm in the river in in the script it it said um my character Reich is doing push-ups in the snow. And I'm like, yeah, Bronson did that, other guys that did that to show the toughness. It's gotta be a better way to show toughness. And she's like, well as soon as you figure it out, you tell me and we'll shoot it. I'm like, great. That's kind of director that she was.
And finally we were trudging across, you know, the snow up in up in the the high Tatras. This was in in Slovakia at this point. No, it was so deep in in the the then then this majestic ice cold it was like a coors light commercial. This river comes flying through and I'm like right there. She's like, What do you mean? She goes I wanna be naked in this river showing
How t in and for this character, I'm a method actor. So I took the beds out of my hotel room. I would I would climb up water mains because I'm a bit claustrophobic, but I needed to feel that fear for the character and overcome fear and help actually help me come overcome my claustrophobia. Just weird. Take ice cold baths every day. Do things to prove them this nutbag tough as nails soldier.
I said I'm gonna be naked in the river and she's like, Really? You're gonna freeze and you might I'm like, I'll be fine, don't worry about it. Because all right, boys, set up the cameras. And there was the shot of me in the river and sti sitting in there and after a couple of minutes I I literally my legs are frozen. They had to drag me out of the river. I couldn't move. But it was such an iconic shot. It was one of my favorite shots I've ever done.
And if it weren't for if it weren't I Antonia Byrd, I don't think any director in their right mind would have said, No, this is a great idea. Let's go. And so and she did it. And and it was she did an amazing job with ravenous in Ted Griffin, who's one of my greatest pals, you know, he wrote it. And I I I love Ted. That script was just it's it's a genius script. And when it came out, it bombed.
Bom. And I was and that's when I quit Hollywood. I was like, all right, that's enough. I thought this was a winner. I'm out. And that's when I went back to Cape Cod and worked at a motel again. And then finally I got a call from a friend of mine said, Steven Spielberg's looking for you for the show called Band of Brothers. What? Uh and you know, and ever since then, Ravenus, however, became this cult classic and everyone loves Ravenous now, which
¶ Voice Acting and Jackie Vincent
Which is kind of awesome. Yeah. I mean some movies they just take time. They just yeah, they need the gestation period. Um okay, this question is from Michael. Well, your career is full of great roles. Angels in the outfield was in my VCR for weeks on end. I'm curious if you have a favorite character and line that you recorded for injustice. Flash and Nightwing are both of my top three most played characters. Gosh, you know, it's it's it's it's funny. They
all kind of run together at at this point of my career and and how blessed I am for that. And to do so many voiceovers for so many you know, I started my career really started with doing voiceovers. You know, I was Uh the Bruce Banner and the Hulk series, you know, next to Lou Ferregno and Kathy Ireland and and everyone else. And it was it was it was awesome. And then
All these other shows I did. And that's what really started me in the business was was, you know, or paid for things in the business was all my voice work. Uh and I played so many characters in in the last fifteen years. I really haven't, you know, other than that Call of Duty, the zombies, um, playing Jackie Vincent was it Jack Vincent, if if if you haven't played the game I've played it. He is the kind of the alter ego of me.
Boston dude that, you know, as as soon as I'm you know, when I was in the in the in in the booth doing it, it's like laughing in church where you're not supposed to. I'd be saying lines, I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't say those things. And and I don't swear and realize. But I just let loose as Jackie F and Vincent and it was just
So much fun to do. And I love voiceovers. I miss doing voiceovers, but right now it's uh I'm just so thoroughly enjoying making movies and and and w alongside my wife Reve. And I'd like to go back and do some more voice work for sure, but it's uh I'm having too much fun right now.
¶ Tin Man and Practice Ethic
All right, this question is from Jerks Productions. One of my favorite projects you've been part of was Tin Man on Sci-Fi. I was wondering if you could share any stories about working on that series. Tin Man was my favorite TV show or miniseries that I had ever done because it was the first time
But someone really gave me a shot at a Western'cause my character was a Western character. The Tin Man wasn't, you know, a sheriff from the really designed from the eighteen hundreds. That th that would that that's what it was. And You know, as I started the character and as a as it started to progress, I really started to get comfortable in the saddle of the character. And to play opposite Zoe and Alan, you know, th they were just You know, it it was it was just fun to to to be part of and
You know, my you know, the greatest memory is, you know, my daughter was born while we were filming. And I'll I'll never forget that. And we had a we had a a beta fish in our tank that lasted for for years and his name was Wyatt Kane after, you know, my character Wyatt Kane. Um and there there's something about Tin Man that You know, I don't go back and watch my stuff, but but I will it at some point one day.
And Wyatt Kane was one of my favorite guys because he's probably that and Buck Compton were two characters that were closest to Neil McDonough that I had ever played until I played The Last Rodeo. And and and I loved I I loved that character so much. um, you know, riding the horses, do doing the guns, doing all the stuff and working with Richard Dreyfus and there's a great scene with Richard Dreyfus where I'm tw you know, I twirl my gun and I practice.
for days for the shot. I wanted to get the the you know, I pull out the gun and without looking, I tr I tr you know, I spin it around my finger and I put it right back in my holster. And I did it just perfect, take after take after take. And everybody's like, how the heck do you do that? You do things, boys and girls, if you practice your butt off. And if you practice your butt off,
on the piano, on a guitar, with a baseball, with whatever. If you keep practicing, practicing, practicing, practicing harder than anybody else, you'll get it. And when your time comes, you'll shine. And and that's kinda how I Pride myself that I work really, really hard on my characters and because I love it, I never want to let anybody down.
¶ Deepest Characters: Lucifer Role
Long live Wyatt Kane. You said like those two characters were closest to you. What could you remember or like could you recall what is the most divergent character that you've ever played from yourself? Aside from Dark Worker number two, of course. Uh who's the biggest stretch? I love going out of the comfort zone. It's and most people don't. I I I I love being I love a little discomfort with characters.
Um you know, Balloon Farm but Balloon Farm uh uh a a uh a movie that of course Bill Deere directed. It was this T V movie the week with Rip Torn. I played Barney Fife, basically. Oh wow. And I had I had to commit. So hard to this character because I I I wanted I wanted him to pop off the screen. I want to entertain people. That's my job, is entertain people.
And the way that I would speak to Ripto Riptour was getting almost like pissed at me'cause like, How dare this kid just try to steal sh stuff from me, you know, and and you know Mr Harvey H. Potter. Just the way that I would say his name, the pecan pasiers, sticky like those little pecan pasiers. If anyone's seen balloon farm, th th that's not
the Neil McDonough that anybody knows, but it's probably closer to Neil McDonough than I am because I'm a goofy guy. And I and like at home, I'm the goofiest bad dad joke telling kind of dad there is. And I drive my kids nuts, but I don't stop. I keep doing it because I enjoy it.
You know, I'm an audience of one and I love when I entertain my audience of one more than probably anything. Um but to to di divert probably most, you know, the darkest one was Uh the shift that I did a few years ago for Angel Studios, where I played basically a Lucifer type character. And I remember...
When they offered me the role and I told my wife, I said, Hey, they want me to basically play the devil. I can't do this. It's just too dark. And she says, Yeah, well, here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna play the character. Because y y y you're one of the most you you have the one of the greatest relationships with God and probably anyone in Hollywood. You're also one of the best villains in the history of Hollywood.
So I'm gonna give you a challenge. I want you to do this film and find a place in the film where you infuse humanity into Lucifer and make Lucifer think, ooh, I made a bad choice. So at the end of the film there's a moment where I'm pointing the gun at the hero and you can see on my face
Oh my like tears well up in my eyes. Why don't I have the faith that you have? Why did I make the wrong choice in life? Why did I choose the evil route instead of the good route? And then I snap back into my evil character again. But for those six or seven seconds You see remorse, you see pain, you see torture, you see all this stuff in the benefactor. And that's one of the moments that I'm probably most proud of.
that I figured that moment out because my wife challenged me to that. And that was a character that's as far from me as I could possibly imagine. But it was such a riveting character to play. Again, I love the jumping out of comfort zones and trying new things.
¶ Captain America's Dum Dum Dugan
Great answer. This is from Ken. Hey ho Adam and Joe and howdy Neal. I've dug your work since the legendary Darkman. So this lifelong comics fan was thrilled to see you bring Timothy Dum Dum Dugan to life in Captain America the First Avenger. Then Reprise the role in the Agent Carter one-shot and agents of Shield. How did you go about making him true to the comics yet personal to you? And what is your general approach to embodying adaptation carry?
Good question. Yeah, I mean I've I've played you know the American horror story I played Eisenhower. So I've worked. I mean and I never look at my stuff and I said, Okay, honey, I I need to look at myself quickly in this because I want to see if I fool myself, if I actually became eisenhower, because I think I did. And I watch it for like the first five seconds. I'm like, oh, they you know, it's a cool look. And then within 10 seconds, I didn't recognize myself anymore.
I I I had I I I tried to embody and I immersed myself in everything that was Eyes and Hour. And it and it really when I looked at it, I didn't see me. And I was so pleased with that. Um Dum Dum is really close to me. He's a Boston, you know, tough guy, hard on his sleeve, beer drinking, well he used to be. You know, ki that that kind of guy that
uh is the first one to to be there at the party, but also the first one to fend any of his buddies. That's kind of who I am. The hardest part about dumdum is that, you know, I'm 180 pounds, 182 pounds. For Dum Dum, I got to two twenty-five, almost almost two thirty. Wow. And I would in in the middle of the night, I would pound an entire chocolate cake.
That must have been fun. That's good research. You know, in and out burgers, quads. I would just chow food and lift weights. I didn't jog that much. I didn't do my usual cardio routine. I just wanted to put on masks and I got humongous. The hardest part and and I drank a lot of beer at the time just to just to keep the beer and pizza and cake and and
Burgers and everything. This sounds like the greatest role ever. It was the and I'm telling you, and there I am in London, you know, for for a few months doing the film, just doing the same thing, but beforehand, you know, I had months beforehand to get in shape for it. Um And again, you know, I wanted to be in Captain America and they said, No, there's no parts left. And Rivae in in her ultimate wisdom.
read through and just goes, This character dum dum Dugan, this is you. Let I'm gonna call to see if this character's cast yet. And it wasn't cast yet. And they said, Well yeah, let's have Neil. We'd love to have Neil do it. And Uh and and that was it. And but to lose all that weight was not an easy thing. I started this
And it took me pr years and years to get it all off. And it wasn't until the last rodeo where I really, you know, trimmed it as much as I could to, you know, and in a couple of other pictures that I really lost the weight. But it w it was hard because I had so much darn fun putting it on.
¶ Angels in Outfield Improvisation
No the cake, sir. Yes, sir. The uh piece? No, the whole cake, please. Bring it here. I'm just bulking up for a roll. That's why I'm eating this. That's right. That's right. All right, this is from Matt. Hi Neil. I've always wanted to ask you this question about your hilarious performance in Angels in the Outfill. I even have my glasses on right now. Yeah, really. After Tony Danza throws his very first pitch, you stand up next to Danny Glover and exclaim, What an amazing pitch.
Danny then turns to you and says, You're damn darn right. You visibly wince at the word damn before he corrects himself, which works perfectly because Danny's character previously ordered the players to cut back on the profanity. My question is, was Danny's line written as delivered, or were you actually wincing at Danny flubbing his line?
I I was I w uh i it it was Danny Gl Danny Glover is one of the most talented actors of all time. And and and that was not a flub. That was that was Danny doing cause he just berated everyone for language.
Mm-hmm. So that that was Danny's choice, but I I wasn't gonna let that drop because my character Whit Bass was nine years old. And that's how I played him. You know, he you know he had his bag of toys on the bench. You know, he would you know you know, things that I made up like you know, with the the hand in the jacket trick where I'm punching myself and all of a sudden I spit out a tooth, which was a tic tac, an old joke of mine.
And then ho, Jose, can't oh, it's about a Spanish guy. So these these are all things that we made up on set and Bill Deere allowed us to play and do things. But Danny was the through line of seriousness through the whole film and it worked so well with these buffoons that were surrounding him, yet he was a stoic, straight, you gotta get the job done, very serious guy until the end of the film where he shows his heart finally and is an amazing character.
But I I was so I I I again I think because I had extra focus because my mom had just passed and I was gonna g I was not gonna be cheated for once. I was gonna give every I was and I like to call it puking on a canvas. I love puking on a cannabis. Get all of it out, put it all out there, make it l you know, you know.
That that's just who I am. And when I do that correctly, it's really entertaining. And Whitbass was one of those characters that, you know, I puked all over that canvas and I left it there for everyone to watch. And I was so proud.
¶ Star Trek: First Contact Stories
All right. Uh we're gonna do one more audience question here. I'm so sorry to everybody's questions we're not gonna be able to get to, but great questions. Great questions. Uh this one is from Catterday Night. Uh Star Trek First Contact is one of my favorite track films.
But I heard somewhere that originally your role was not just bigger, but also was written as a gay character. Is there any truth to this? And if so, can you tell us a little bit about that experience and what aspects were changed or removed? Uh I don't think it was any bigger. Um I think it's a good thing. Jonathan Frakes just kept using me and putting me in more shots and and and it was it was awesome. Um
As far as the gay character came, uh that was I didn't know about it until after, uh until the book there was a book that was released that Lieutenant Hawk was gonna be the first gay character I I wish I had known. Um Be b you know, be but I but I didn't. Um would I have played him any differently? I don't think so. I think I would have played him exactly the same way. Um but i it was uh y you know, to to be part of that was like I remember my first day on set.
I I I was so excited'cause I had I had a you know Captain Kirk. six foot tall, you know, one of those cutout things in my apartment in Hollywood. If it weren't for Shatner, you know, Shatner was like my driving, I want to be Shatner. I want I want to be that guy when I grow up. That that's that's what I want to be. But I wouldn't kiss a girl, so that that prohibited me from being Shatner. Uh so um
My my first day on set, I said, Can I show up early since I'm flying the enterprise? I like to just like to get into character and just kinda geek out on set for a while. And they said, Sure, how mu you know, the the custodian will be there a half hour before and you can no I mean like three hours. Like yeah, no problem. So they opened up for me and I'm on set by myself for a couple hours. And the joy of bringing me back to my childhood, pretending that I am Shatner.
And I'm s I'm just, I'm lathered up. I'm doing Shatner. I'm doing Spock. I'm doing bones. I'm sh I'm like doing all this stuff. And then finally, about an hour into, I'm like, wait a minute, I gotta go into the next carrot. I gotta do next generation. Now I'm doing Jean-Luc Picard and I'm doing it to the best that I can. I'm having a blast because no one's looking and no one's there. Then all of a sudden I hear from twenty feet behind me, you must be Lieutenant Hawk.
Oh no. I turn around and there's there's Patrick Stewart. And I'm like, um hi, Mrs. Stewart. How long have you been there? About twenty minutes. You do me very well. Oh no, I'm so sorry. And the he p Patrick and John Frakes took it upon themselves.
to bust my nuggets every chance they possibly could because we we we just had this great relationship and they knew that I was gonna be gone at the end of this movie and I wasn't coming back because I was getting borgified. Although I still I could be borgified. I still could come back to some
Uh put that out there in the ether. Uh but you know, those guys were just so awesome to me. And seeing Frakes at at conventions every once in a while, uh yeah, I just love him and and and the opportunity that they gave me on on that film is just awesome.
¶ Overcoming Adversity, Finding Purpose
Man, I I wish we had hours more. But we gotta get to the the final question. Uh and this is something we try to ask everybody because everybody everybody's had a struggle. It it's never easy for anybody. But what was one point you can remember in the journey so far where everything just seemed so bleak, like it could never get better? And how did you not give up?
There's a lot of bumps along everyone's road. I don't care if you're a plumber or architect or accountant or a teacher or whatever. There's always bumps. And the bumps are what build you. And and if you can get over those bumps and become better because of the bumps, that's part of the journey of.
life that that you're supposed to do. And if if if the bumps get to you and wear you down too much, you have to figure out how to change your narrative. You have to figure out how to, as my wife Rebe said, man up and and and and be the best version of you possible.
And I try to be the best version of myself all the time. I fail. Like I'm I'm I'm an idiot at times. I'm a sinner like everybody else. There is no one who is perfect. And when people point their fingers and and say, you know, I'm perfect, how dare you do these things to stop it. Just just stop. No one's perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. There is no perfect religion. There's no perfect anything.
So um y you know, even Jesus, you know, when he lost his his mind one day in a temple when they were gambling and doing things in a temple when they shouldn't have. You know, she show showed his humanity by getting angry and tearing things apart. So no one no one is perfect. So W you know, one of the hardest things is, you know, years ago when I got fired from that show. There was about a two year span where I didn't work and I lost everything. I lost my house, my cars.
My swagger, my my my identity. I'm like, well, if I can't act and if I can't provide for my five kids, what am I worth? Why am I even on this planet? And seriously dark thoughts went through my head. Like seriously, seriously dark thoughts.
went through my head as I was polishing off whiskey and and everything else that was in front of me. And I couldn't understand, and and and the I I know exactly when it was, I couldn't understand why, you know, the thought of and I said it out loud, God, why have you forgotten about me?
And as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I felt my knees and started sobbing because I realized I was making all the hard part of all this journey about me and not about serving him or serving my wife or serving my kids. I'm like, okay, I gotta change. That I I I I gotta stop. And a minute later the phone rang and it was John Avnet. Because I hear you're going through some hard stuff. And I want you to come on to be the villain on Justified. And I I can't tell you.
the the feeling that I had at that moment. Because I realized I was making the pain about me. I wasn't trying to help others or be there for others. I was just wallowing in self-pity. Self-pity is for losers. And literally, and I read that the other day. If you have self-pity, you're a loser. You have to stop with self-pity and realize what you have and be better because of it.
That was a shocking thing to read, but that's that's what a kinda how I lived ten years ago. And then I put down the bottle, I stopped drinking, I started going back to church, I started manning up again. And by doing so, all of a sudden, everything opened up. And if you look at the last ten years of my career compared to the last twenty before that, twenty before that were were were pretty darn awesome.
But the last ten years, you know, Rivay and I are about to produce our twelfth film together. Here I am on my f I'm about to start today on the first day of Angel and the Badman, another western that we're producing with Angel Studios, with me and Zach Levi and Tommy Lee Jones. And It's it's just astounding when you make your life about serving others instead of serving yourself.
Great, great, great, whether you're religious or not, if you're there for for humanity and not looking out for your best interests, but what makes the world a better place and how can I make it a better place for everybody this moment today, not tomorrow, and yesterday I screwed up.
Tomorrow I might screw up. But today, today I'm not going to screw up. Today I'm going to be strong. Today I'm going to be strong in my convictions of being the best version of me today. Holy smokes. That's the most empowering thing that can happen to anyone, and great things happen because of it.
¶ Life Beyond Social Media
Wow. Wow. That that is a amazing answer. Thank you. Um I hope we get to do this again at some point'cause there's I hope we get to work with each other. Like this is one of those things where it's like it's the you some sometimes we all need a little positive reinforcement, especially Right now. Yes. So thank you for the first time. The world is a messy place, but as messy as it is, I'd rather be in it than not be in it.
And as messy as it is, what can I do in my personal area to make it less messy and kind of cool for everyone around me? That's what I Yep. That's great. Neil, are you on social media at all? Like as we're like, let's talk positive. Let's make the world better. Hey, you want social media?
I gave up social media three years ago. Good job, sir. Very, very nice. Well we unfortunately are so my wife will post for me. My my my daughter Catherine will post some pictures for me every once in a while or posting but I don't look at social media. It's toxic. It's just toxic.
It's anti creative. Everyone says, Yeah, but I can learn. No, you can't. No. You know how you learn? You you try things and you fail. That's how you learn. And you don't talk to people. You speak to other human beings and you don't just slide into D and watch where you're Yeah. My my son and their my kid how do you ask a girl out on a date now? Do you stand next to her and text her? Because no one knows how to talk to anybody anymore.
Put the phone down. You know, it it's it's like yeah uh going back to Shatner in that Saturday Night Live skit. When was the last time you kissed a girl? That's one of the best sketches they've ever done. Oh my god. Yeah, I mean it's so good. But but that's what life has become. Everything is is become staring at your phones. We're all we're all culprits of. But social media is li it's toxic to kids. You know, the kid you know
Mendoza, the quarterback this year for Indiana and they won the thing, he won the Heisman, everything. I mean what was the d what was the difference between your approach to football this year and last year? Because last year you were okay. This year you were superlative because it was easy. I gave up social media a year ago and I haven't looked at it since.
Those two hours of extra time that I had every day, I'm throwing footballs. I'm eating better. I'm working out harder. I'm going to church every day. I'm doing all those things. And for me, I go to church I try to go to church every day, whether it's a mosque or a temple or
Or or Fenway Park. I think more more prayers have been said at Fenway Park in Boston than any place else on the planet. You know, so it it's uh that's who I am and and and it's working so far and and and I hope it keeps on working. Well Neil, thank you so, so much. Uh we know you're heading back to set, so we uh break a leg. And we can't wait to see what you do next. Also the burning question.
Bronco Billy. That was the Clint Eastwood movie. Bronco Billy said exactly. That's it. Good job. It was like on the s the tip of our tongues, and it's like but that like that movie very much feels like what you were trying to achieve and you did, and I hope you continue to do so. Thank you. God bless you guys. Thank you. Look forward to the next time we have these chats. This was this was awesome. Thank you guys. Appreciate it.
Don't forget Neil's new movie, Twisted, directed by our good friend Darren Bowsman, is currently available for rental or purchase digitally wherever you get your movie. We'll see you next week with another edition of the movie Crypt with Adam and Joe. 아, bunch of cuties, huh? YES! Crails. Marketing is hard.
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