A-lister Neal McDonough claims he was 'blacklisted' from Hollywood after refusing to do one thing

A Hollywood actor has claimed he 'lost everything' several years ago after rejecting a controversial request.

Neal McDonough was one of the most recognisable TV stars in Hollywood history.

Following his 2001 appearance in the multi-award winning HBO mini series Band of Brothers, the 59-year-old went on to feature in a vast plethora of productions.

He's most famously know, though, for his roles as Dave Williams in Desperate Housewives, and as Damien Darhk in the TV series Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash. On top of this, McDonough also has the likes of Suits and Yellowstone on his impressive CV.

More recently, he's been cast in the second series of crime-drama Tulsa King.

At one time, however, the star appeared to vanish from both the big and small screen.

Neal McDonough claims he was unable to land work for two years (Arnold Jerocki/WireImage)

In fact, by McDonough's own admission, for two whole years, he was avoided by producers, talent scouts and agents alike. But why?

Well, according to the father-of-five, it all came down to his reluctance to perform in intimate scenes with female co-workers.

Speaking on Tim Green's Nothing Left Unsaid podcast this week, McDonough explained: "I’d always had in my contracts I wouldn’t kiss another woman on-screen.

"My wife didn’t have any problem with it. It was me, really, who had a problem with it. I was like, 'Yeah, I don't want to put you through it. I know we're going to start having kids and I don't want to put my kids through it'."

McDonough has been married to his wife, Ruvé, since 2003, and the couple share three daughters, Clover, London Jane and Catherine Maggie, and two sons, Morgan and James.

Claiming the decision impacted his career in the long-run, McDonough went on to explain himself.

The couple have been married since 2003 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

"Intimacy is a whole different thing for me," the actor continued. "So, when I wouldn’t do it and and they couldn’t understand it, Hollywood just completely turned on me and they wouldn’t let me be part of the show anymore.

"For two years, I couldn’t get a job, and I lost everything you could possibly imagine."

McDonough also went on to recall how his confidence was knocked, adding: "Not just houses and material things, but your swagger, your cool, who you are, your identity, everything.

"My identity was an actor, and a really good one. And once you don’t have that identity, you’re kind of lost in a tailspin."

However, he admitted that after he 'stopped drinking, everything just kind of changed'.

McDonough explained: "Literally the clouds parted. I was like, 'Oh, I don't need this crutch. Oh, people are calling me. Oh, I am successful. Oh, I do like myself again. Okay, I am God's child and I have a job to do. Stop wallowing in self-pity. Dust yourself off and go hit it hard.'

"And ever since that day, I've hit it as hard as possible. At 59 years old, I'm more busy than I've ever been in my whole life."