Neal McDonough’s face might be incredibly familiar to you, after (in his words) “I guess 100 movies and 1,000 hours of television,” but when Collider spoke to the prolific actor whose on-screen appearances have brought him to so many different franchises, he sounded particularly excited about what might be a new phase of his career.
InAmerican Horror StorySeason 10, McDonough joinsRyan Murphy’s extremely large stable of actors by playing a role people have been saying he should be playing for quite some time: That of America’s 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. This story, however, isn’t a traditional biopic — instead, thisAHSstory, dubbedDeath Valley, focuses on a 1950s-era Eisenhower confronted by an alien threat, forced to make impossible choices to save his wife Mamie (Sarah Paulson).
It’s a role that he deeply related to for a number of reasons, and took extremely seriously — because, as he reflects below, his career has now reached a point where after playing so many bad guys on screen, this might finally be the point where he can go back to playing the good guy again. McDonough also explains what it is about Eisenhower he liked playing, whether he was conscious of theTwilight Zonehomage being paid with the show’s black-and-white filming style, and how a role like this compares to, say, going full villain in a particularly iconicDC’s Legends of Tomorrowsequence.
Collider: I want to start by asking — when this came to you, what was the pitch like? What were you told?
MCDONOUGH: “You want to play Eisenhower inAmerican Horror Story?” “Yes.”
That was it?
MCDONOUGH: That was it. I mean, literally that was it. “Ryan Murphy wants you to play Eisenhower inAmerican Horror Story. What do you think?” I’m like, “I would be honored. Let’s do it.” It was really that simple.
For years, people have said, “You should play Eisenhower. You look so much like him and you guys are very similar.” I’m like, “Oh, thanks. Thanks. Thanks.” And then when I got the job, I really then did, as I do, I delve into characters deeply. It used to drive [my wife] Ruve nuts early on in our relationship. She’s like, “You can’t live your characters 24,7. You’ve got to live your life.” I’m like, “What are you talking about? I’m a method actor. I delve.” And then this is very, very early on. And then after about three days of me being by myself, if I realize, okay, I have to work when I’m working and live my life when I’m living my life.
When I’m doing my characters, though, I’m 100 percent in. And for Eisenhower, I dug into this guy and learned so much about him, that he is so much like me in that it’s God first, me second. Family first, me second. Country first, me second. And his approach to everything was simple. Like my approach to all the years I played baseball is a simple approach of throwing a ball, simple approach of hitting a ball, simple approach of being a great husband, simple approach of being a great dad. If I think about things too much… I don’t think I’m smart enough to figure these things out, being an Irishman, but I’m really good with my original hunches in keeping things simple. And my choices with Eisenhower on camera were all about playing it very simple. The situations are crazy if you really think about the situation, “Oh my gosh, an alien.” Well, what would Eisenhower do with the situation? He would think, “Okay, let’s break it down in the simplest form and how to come up with the best answer.” And that’s what Eisenhower did.
And I loved that about him, and I loved how he would stick to his guns and not waffle. If he made a decision, that was the decision, because the decision came from truth. And to play that like that on television was … It’s such an honor. To play someone as iconic as Eisenhower is fantastic. But to really do that within the world of Ryan Murphy was just a treat that I can’t even put into words, to play oppositeSarah Paulson, who’s just a heavyweight champ. To be in the ring with her was just a ball to play. And then with Craig Sheffer, who just tore it up as Nixon and the whole cast and the whole crew from, like I say, from craft service, to catering, to wardrobes, to everything, everyone is in it to win it for Ryan Murphy. And it was just awesome to be part of it.
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For you, what is the difference between Ryan Murphy asking you to play Dwight Eisenhower and a lesser-known producer doing it?
MCDONOUGH: Well, his show’s been on the air for 10 years for a reason, because they really make things entertaining. Andthe production qualityis … I never watch my stuff ever. All the shows that I’ve been in for the last X amount of years, 10 years, whatever, I barely ever watch unless I have to. If I’m producing one of my movies, then obviously I have to watch it for editing and such. But if I’m not on the production side of it, I generally don’t watch, because I don’t like to watch myself because I don’t like to think, “Ooh, that was great. Let me take that bit and use that later on.” I don’t want to be an actor who leans on crutches. I like to always be fresh and delve into the character that I’m playing.
This was different. This was, okay, I have to kind of watch it because I know there’s going to be a lot of press. But watching this show, two things happen. I don’t really recognize myself because it’s so different. But then when I really look at it, I think I don’t recognize myself so much, because I’m playing myself on television. And to play that instead of playing tons of villains… because obviously I couldn’t do good guy roles, because I won’t do sex scenes, and generally, you’re kissing the woman at the end of a show, and I don’t do that. And as I said earlier, I think I’ve finally with age outgrown having to do… No one wants to see a guy in his 50s having those kinds of scenes anyway, to be honest.
So I think I’ve finally gotten past it and now I get to play the good guys again. And I think that the timing for Neal McDonough couldn’t be better, because as an actor, I’ve grown so much. As a human being, being the father of five and married to this amazing woman, I’ve grown so much. And I get to throw all that onto a canvas now as an actor, as an artist, to draw from my personal life and infuse it into these characters, especially someone like Eisenhower, who’s really quite a lot like me in so many ways. It was really… It was a treat. It was an honor and a blessing. And to do it for Ryan Murphy, knowing that I’m in the best sandbox to play in with these actors and these words and the production quality, I’m just kind of humbled and taken aback and floored as to how amazing the show is and how fortunate I’ve been to be able to do it.
One thing I really enjoyed about the black and white sections is the very clear homage toTwilight Zonebeing made. From your perspective, when you’re on set and you’re filming a scene and you know that that’s kind of the angle they’re going for, is it something you’re conscious of?
MCDONOUGH: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I don’t. No, no, not at all. No, I don’t. I don’t like to think anything about anything like that, except for, what’s the situation that I’m in, and what is my intention, and how do I react to it? So I could be in any show and sometimes my characters as villains were so scary, because I kept my choice is really simple, in these horribly crazy situations at times, which makes it either so off-putting, that you’re kind of laughing. It’s like laughing in church, when you’re an eight-year-old boy. I like to make people do that to get them uncomfortable in situations, because my choices are so simple. Now to play that as a good guy in these situations, it’s different.
I don’t like to tip my hand. I don’t like to know. I don’t like to read what other people think of me. So when I’m reading scripts, I kind of don’t like to read anything except for exactly what I’m doing. Because if I know what someone else is saying about me, that might tip my hand as to how I should play a scene. So I keep my stuff really, really, really simple. And by doing so, I think that it make my characters very entertaining to watch I think. Well, I hope so. I guess 100 movies and 1,000 hours of television later, I think I’m doing the right thing. And that’s not to sound flippant at all, but I think whatever I am doing, that the talent that God gave me is working.
And I think it’s working even more now than it used to as I watch Eisenhower, because it’s a pretty awesome character. And I owe all of that on this show to Ryan Murphy and giving me the opportunity to do it and to my wife Ruve for always being … She’s my greatest acting coach and greatest life partner and greatest everything, that we do this together. And I couldn’t imagine where I’d be in my career without having Ruve by my side on every step. I’m very humbled by the whole thing.
I’m sitting here talking to you guys about playing Eisenhower onAmerican Horror Story. One day I’ll sit back and think, “Holy cow, look what I had the opportunity to do.” How fortunate in life am I that these gifts keep coming to me. And I don’t like to think about it too much, because I don’t want to jinx it either. I’ve just been so blessed.
You mentioned that you don’t necessarily watch a lot of your work, but on the scale of the wildest things your characters have done on screen … For some reason, the first thing that comes to mind is the “Return of the Mack” fight sequence fromDC’s Legends of Tomorrow–
MCDONOUGH: Oh, that was delicious. That was just delicious. Yeah. “Return of the Mack.” That’s top five moments in the Neal McDonough catalog of pure enjoyment as an acthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCwvCaEcIzsor. No question about it.
So where doesAmerican Horror Storyland, on that scale of wild to ordinary?
To play Eisenhower is different. The importance of playing someone like Eisenhower and the work that went into it, creating this character… It’s like going back toBand of Brothersand playing Buck Compton. Tom Hanks gave us a speech on why we owe it to these men to tell the absolute truth and nothing but the truth and work your tails off to ensure that it’s done correctly. That stuck with me for 20 years now. And I owe lots to Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg for giving me that opportunity, because it made me think as an actor, “Okay. How do you really tell the truth with historic figures?”
And someone like Eisenhower… Like I said, people have said for years, “You should play Eisenhower.” But now that I had a chance, it was the same thing as delving into Buck Compton forBand of Brothers. I am going to tell the truth in these wild situations that are going on. How do I tell the truth of Eisenhower and how do I make my choices as simple as Eisenhower made his choices in his life? And that was the test.
It’s not tipping your hand. It’s not trying to do something. It’s just being. And that is as an actor, generally the hardest and most difficult, to be in a situation where you’re really thinking about a situation and listening to what’s going on instead of having preconceived notions as to how I should react and what the right reaction would be. You can’t do that as an actor. You have to be able to mold and work with the other actors and work with the directors and work with the writing and work with everything.
So for me, where does this range? This is right up on the very, very, very, very top. And I got to do it for someone as incredible and as prolific as Ryan Murphy. Gosh. So it’s at the very, very top, and I’m not going to … I was so blessed to play Eisenhower. I’m very humbled by the whole experience of them giving me the opportunity to play one of the most iconic Americans of all time. And I was blessed, and I will never be able to thank them enough.
The season finale ofAmerican Horror Story: Death Valleyairs Wednesday on FX.
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