It’s a role he was destined to play.
Tsawwassen’s Neal McDonough is starring in the new History Channel drama Project Blue Book. Inspired by the personal experiences of Dr. J. Allen Hynek, the story centres on the real-life, top-secret investigation into unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and related activity conducted by the United States Air Force in the 1950s and ’60s.
McDonough plays Gen. James Harding.
“I always wanted to work for (executive producer) Robert Zemeckis. From Back to the Future movies to Forrest Gump, you name it, he has done so many fantastic films so to work with him is a career highlight,” McDonough told the Optimist.
“Also, most importantly, my wife Ruve found it online and said they were doing this new show in Vancouver. I contacted my agent and told him to get me on this show and I was surprised that they wrote Harding with me in mind to play him, which is awesome.
“To stay here in Vancouver and to work every day and then come home every night to Ruve and the kids is a dream come true and then to work for Robert Zemeckis and to have really great fun material is a blessing.”
McDonough says Harding is based on a real-life character.
“He was the highest ranking four-star general and put in a position to not let the public know what was going on and to use every means necessary to ensure the public is held at bay from the information. For me, what’s interesting is you’re not sure whether Harding is a good guy or a bad guy, but what you do know is that he is a patriot and he’s trying to do his job the best he can. It’s great to play that guy and as the series progresses, you realize that there is an agenda, but that Harding is a good guy, but he has a job to do and not many people are willing to do that work to get a job done and Harding was.”
The role is even more personal for McDonough as his father was in the U.S. Air Force.
Project Blue Book is on History Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
The 52-year-old McDonough has had a three-decade acting career with roles in such movies as Minority Report and Walking Tall and TV series including Band of Brothers and Suits.
He’s been extremely busy lately. He’ll be starting as a new mysterious character in Van Helsing, plays the voice of Charles Sumner in The Gettysburg Address, plays Vincent in The Jesuit, is in the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie (now in post-production) and plays the role of Malcolm Beck in the Paramount series Yellowstone starring Kevin Costner.
“I call Yellowstone Dallas on steroids. Kevin Costner is so good as the patriarch of the show and the second season is where I come in – and I am dastardly character that does some pretty horrific things,” he says.
“I love playing that character and the writing is so great. To play opposite Kevin Costner like I did a few years ago in The Guardian and to do that again has really been fantastic. I start on Van Helsing in a few weeks and I can’t wait for that too.”
McDonough also finds time to work with his kids and the Delta Youth Theatre.
“It started last year with Annie. Tony Barton asked me to play Warbucks and I told him I couldn’t do it… I was just so busy with all the other projects, but I went home and told Ruve and she said you will drive back and talk to Tony and tell him you will not only play Warbucks, but you will be on opening night and have a Q&A and give back to the community, plus you will be on stage with two of the kids and I have never been seen you on stage before,” McDonough recalls.
“It was such a win-win. The top 10 days of my life was certainly that opening of Annie because I got to really show off for Ruve, which is something I love to do, but to be on stage with my kids was a gift. We were new to the community so it was great to be able to give back.
“What they do for Delta youth is truly remarkable so my hats are off to Tony [Barton] and Tracy [Neff]. Once you live in a community like South Delta it is such a tight knit community and is what we love about this and why we moved here from Los Angeles. For us to use the celebrity that we have to make our community a better place, of course we are going to do that. I hope by us being a part of the shows, or coaching baseball or at the church, whatever the case, these are little things that go noticed by God and by the community and that’s what you should be doing.”
