Attended and graduated from Barnstable High School in Barnstable, Massachusetts.
Decided to give up on acting until his manager got him a meeting and audition for Band of Brothers (2001). His work on that led to Steven Spielberg casting him in Minority Report (2002).
Is one of 6 children, has 4 brothers and one sister.
His parents are Catherine and Frank McDonough, both of whom emigrated from Ireland, with his mother coming from County Tipperary, Province of Munster, and his father from County Galway, Province of Connacht.
Was named Mr. BHS in his senior year at Barnstable High School (a male spoof on the Junior Miss Pageant).
His character Lieutenant Hawk in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) was originally written as the first openly gay character in any Star Trek series or movie, but all references to his sexual orientation were written out of later drafts of the screenplay. The character was later confirmed as having been gay in the Star Trek tie-in novel "Section 31: Rogue" by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin.
His brother Gerard appeared as a contestant on an episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". He left with $32,000 after giving the incorrect answer for the $64,000 question.
Daughter, Catherine "Cate" Maggie McDonough (born May 14, 2007), with Ruve McDonough.
Son, Morgan McDonough (born November 28, 2005), with Ruve McDonough.
Like his Tin Man (2007) co-star Zooey Deschanel, he appeared in advertising for the clothing chain The Gap Inc.
In grade school, his first acting role was that of the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz". According to McDonough, he really wanted to play the Tin Man. In 2007, he finally got his chance, appearing in the title role of Sci-Fi Network (now Syfy)'s miniseries Tin Man (2007).
Daughter, London Jane McDonough (born January 11, 2010), with Ruve McDonough. London weighed 7.95 lbs and measured 19 inches long.
Received his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Syracuse University in 1988.
His brother John is a former writer for national newspapers and currently teaches writing at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth.
Is a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.
His parents were both born in Ireland, his father in County Galway and his mother in County Tipperary.
Is a huge fan of Warren Zevon.
According to Nathan Fillion in his appearance on the Nerdist podcast, Neal McDonough was also under consideration for the part of Captain Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly (2002).
He has played the same character (Damien Darhk) in three different series: Arrow (2012), The Flash (2014) and DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016).
Played the voice of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in the 2010 animated short film "Green Arrow" and played Damien Darhk (enemy of Green Arrow) in the live-action TV series "Arrow" (2012).