Actor Leaves ABC Series Over Sex Scene

Neal McDonough is no longer part of the ABC cast of the new Scoundrels because the script called for him to do a sex scene. The devout Catholic and father of three balked, and he got replaced three days into filming for his trouble, reports Radar. McDonough, 44, is best known for his roles on Desperate Housewives, Band of Brothers, and Boomtown.

Plenty of big-name female actresses refuse to do love scenes, notes Margaret Eby at Salon, but it's rare to find a guy who draws the line. "It’s easy to dismiss McDonough as out of touch with the industry or perhaps even a religious nut, but the more I thought about it, the more I admired the guy. Given the constant turmoil in most stars’ love lives and how difficult it seems to be to stay married in Hollywood, maybe McDonough’s move isn’t so much self-defeating as it is smart." (More Neal McDonough stories.)