How Luke Perry Helped Neal McDonough After Actor Lost Everything

Neal McDonough says Beverly Hills 90210 star Luke Perry was there for him when nobody else in Hollywood had his back.

The actor, known for his work on Yellowstone, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and Tulsa King, opened up about overcoming a tough moment in his career in a new interview. Saying he was fired and labeled a "religious nut bag" for refusing to kill a female co-star for a TV pilot, McDonough says he turned to the bottle to cope.

His saving graces? Both Perry and McDonough's own wife, Ruvé Robertson.

Neal McDonough ‘Lost Everything'

The Captain America: First Avengers star, who is also a devout Catholic, has been open in the past about his difficulties navigating Hollywood after insisting he wouldn't kiss a woman other than his wife on-screen. Per McDonough, it's always been part of his contract, but became an issue when filming a pilot for the 2010 series, Scoundrels.

McDonough was replaced on the series by David James Elliott.

"‘What time is the bar open?' That was generally my thought process back then. It was, you know, fired from a show because I wouldn't kiss a woman," he shared in a new interview with FOX News Digital. "No one would hire me because they thought I was this religious nut bag, which is that I love my wife so much. And no one can understand it, no one could understand it."

"I was always a drinker. I'm Irish, from Boston, it's what we do," he continued, before admitting his drinking "became a bad problem."

Luke Perry and Ruvé Robertson to the Rescue

McDonough said this dark period in his career lasted 2-3 years, claiming he "lost the house, lost the cars, lost everything."

He, however, had a saving grace in his former Invasion co-star Luke Perry.

"And Luke saw me one night…he saw I was a mess. He said, ‘What's going on with you? I hear things aren't going so great,'" McDonough recalled. "Then I opened up to him and he goes, ‘Why don't you stay in my house? I don't live in it anymore. It's right there, right near your house in Hancock Park.'"

He said Perry then handed him the keys, at a time he needed it most.

In the same interview, McDonough also credits his faith and his wife, Ruvé Robertson, with helping him overcome his drinking.

"She said, ‘It's us or the bottle, you choose,' and I never looked back," he recalled. "If I didn't have someone like Ruvé in my life, I would not be sitting here talking to you about how great my life has been for the last 10 years and how she has been there as a driving force, my manager, my best friend, the love of my life. I don't know where I would be."

"God gave me the most amazing woman I've ever met," he said, calling her his "good luck charm."

Both McDonough and his wife are producers on the actor's latest project, the Jimmy Stewart biopic Jimmy.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 11:31 AM.