Neal McDonough. Photo Credit: Angel Studios.
Actor Neal McDonough chatted about starring in the forthcoming film “Homestead,” which will be out via Angel Studios this December.
The synopsis is: Homestead is an intense post-apocalyptic family survival drama. Ex-Green Beret Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase) takes a job as head of security at an elaborate prepper compound, “The Homestead,” as the world crumbles.
Inside, they face resource wars and ideological conflicts, while outside, chaos reigns.
Amid the mayhem, unity and forgotten truths emerge as love grows in unexpected places and the community strives to cultivate the land and fend off impending destruction.
‘Homestead’
On starring in “Homestead,” McDonough said, “It was great. To be part of the world of Angel Studios is just incredible. It’s a great home for us. What Angel Studios did with ‘Homestead’ is really fantastic.”
McDonough on playing Ian Ross in ‘Homestead’
“To have a movie where you talk about actual issues of ‘what ifs’ and what do you do if you are me, Ian Ross, a billionaire with a massive homestead,” he noted.
“Do you shut everyone out or do you open the gates and share with your neighbors? Are you really a part of the community or are you all about yourself? These are some of the great ideas that we talk about in this movie, and that doesn’t happen so much in films anymore,” he elaborated.
“With Angel Studios, I love that the whole family can go and see the film, where they are six years old or 85 years old. This is what Ruve and I are doing, and we get to do it with Angel Studios,” he added.
“We talk about some scary issues, but the whole family can sit down and watch it together and discuss it,” he said.
“This movie makes you really think about what you should be doing in life, and how we can be better for ourselves, better for God, better for our community and better for our humanity. This is great filmmaking, and I am really proud of it,” he added.
Bailey Chase
On working with Bailey Chase, he said, “Bailey is a stud. He is so prepared, and he is so ready to rumble. He is perfect for the part. Bailey killed it, and we are so blessed to have Bailey on board with us.”
The digital age
On being an actor in the digital age, McDonough said, “I’m an analog guy; I am so old-school that I like a rotary dial phone. When it comes to all the modern technology, I am baffled by it.”
“Ruve and our kids just laugh at me,” he noted. “While they tell me that I can’t open an app, they know that I can act, and I think that’s all I need to do: to be a great husband, a great father and a great actor. Those are the three things that I pride myself on.”
“I am in a position now in my life where I get to produce alongside my wife,” he said. “I get to create these movies and do all these projects which deal with ‘how can we be better for Him, how can we be better for humanity, and how can we be better to each other.’ I love that type of filmmaking, which pays homage to the heartland of America,” he elaborated.
“I couldn’t be prouder, more blessed or humbled by where we are right now with the McDonough Company,” he acknowledged.
“Now, people are taking us seriously as filmmakers and we are able to make projects that give glory to Him… and that is just fantastic,” he added.
‘Yellowstone’
On being a part of “Yellowstone,” he said, “It allowed me to work with Kevin Costner, Taylor Sheridan, and David Glasser. It was just great.”
‘Tulsa King’
McDonough opened up about portraying the new villain in “Tulsa King.”
“Now, I’m the new bad guy in ‘Tulsa King’ for the season,” he said. “I play a guy that is in way over his head, and I get to go nose to nose with Sylvester Stallone, and both of our characters are very tough and very strong-willed.”
“To work with Sly was one of the greatest achievements of my life. Sly created the ‘Rocky,’ ‘Creed,’ ‘Rambo’ and ‘The Expendables’ franchises. Finally, he gets to play the kind of guy that he was growing up in New York as a kid, he gets to play that Italian mobster, and that is great because he never had that chance,” he elaborated.
“This is the first time that he really gets to play himself,” he noted. “Sly’s work ethic is like mine. If you give us a dollar, we will give you two dollars’ worth of effort. Sly is there to win and I am there to win, and together, the two of us are knocking heads beautifully on ‘Tulsa King’ this year, and I had a ball.”
‘The Shift’
“That was my first foray with my relationship with Angel Studios. When they asked me to play the Devil, I told them I couldn’t do that, but it was Ruve that convinced me to do so. I love how that film started our relationship with Angel Studios, and we couldn’t be happier.”
McDonough on working with Kristoffer Polaha
“Kristoffer is amazing,” McDonough exclaimed. “I love him. I don’t understand why he is not the next Jimmy Stewart. He is so talented, he is so good looking, and he is such a family guy. He is driven to be the best that he can be.”
“Last weekend, Ruve and I got an award for ‘Lifetime Achievement,’ and Kristoffer’s son Caleb Polaha came up and sang three songs for us, and he lit the room on fire. The Polahas and the McDonoughs are really close, and it’s a beautiful thing.”
“Ruve does 10 times the things that I do; she is my superpower,” he said. “That is why I thank her every day, 10 times a day. Kristoffer Polaha and I are very lucky to have two amazing, strong-willed women in our corners. It is not by luck we are here where we are, it is because of them.”
“Kristoffer Polaha is one of the most talented actors in Hollywood, and I can only hope that he finally becomes the Jimmy Stewart that he really is. He is an incredible actor but an even better human being,” McDonough added.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, “Humble.”
“I am just humbled by the fact that I get to produce, write, and star in movies opposite my wife and knowing that all of these projects give glory to Him with the amazing distribution company of Angel Studios,” he expressed.
“If the only boss were my wife, Ruve, for the rest of my life, I would be the happiest guy in the world. That’s how Clint Eastwood did it and that’s how we are doing it now. I am humbled that I get to do it with Ruve and Angel Studios… it is pretty awesome,” he elaborated.
He subsequently described his wife as his “superpower in life.”
McDonough on success
Regarding his definition of success, he shared, “Success really is 25 years of marriage with five amazing kids that have done well in school, sports, and on top of that, they have done well with being good kids.”
“To me, that’s the most successful thing I could ever hope for or imagine. The films that I get to do are a success in itself. I am in success right now, and it feels so great and humbling that I get to do it with Ruve, and that we can keep on working,” he explained.
“I love being in front of the movie camera; it’s my happy spot. It’s a very exciting time in my life and I am very blessed because of that,” he acknowledged.
Closing thoughts on ‘Homestead’
For his fans, he remarked about “Homestead,” “I hope people go and see it in the cinema, especially since it is shot so well.”
“Ben Smallbone did an amazing job directing this movie,” he admitted. “To see the beautiful landscapes of Utah in a big theater with other people is even better.”
“We are trying to find a family atmosphere back to films. The tenseness in ‘Homestead’ is palpable, and I would love to see packed audiences see this film,” he said.
“I am really proud of ‘Homestead,’ and I think it is going to do really well in the box office,” he concluded.
To learn more about actor Neal McDonough, follow him on Instagram.