by Joe Ferullo
You may not know the name Neal McDonough -- but he's one of those Hollywood faces you'll instantly recognize. He's a compelling actor, who's played good guys and bad, most recently on the ABC series "Desperate Housewives" and HBO's "Band of Brothers."
But last season, McDonough reportedly walked away from a starring role on another ABC show called "Scoundrels," when producers wanted him to do sex scenes. McDonough is married with a family, is a strong Catholic -- and reportedly has always made it clear that he would not do heated love scenes. (On the steamy "Housewives" primetime soap, his character was creepy and disturbing, sometimes shirtless -- but not part of the sexual game-playing that often drives the show.)
When McDonough's stand was reported earlier this year on the entertainment industry news site "Deadline Hollywood," reader reaction was swift and overwhelmingly positive -- but many commentators worried McDonough would become a Hollywood outcast.
But today "Deadline Hollywood" reports McDonough has landed a new project -- he will write, produce and star in a series called "Vigilante Priest" for the cable channel Starz. He'll play an ex-cop turned priest who cleans up the streets of Los Angeles "one sinner at a time."
Sounds like it could be fun. As for "Scoundrels," the other series McDonough walked away from -- well, it lasted less than one season.
