My Take
Neal McDonough is one of those actors Hollywood quietly depends on to make everything feel dangerous, and honestly he deserves way more credit for it. The guy grew up in Dorchester — one of Boston's toughest neighborhoods — and went on to study at Syracuse University, so there's real substance behind those piercing blue eyes that have become basically his signature calling card. Whether he's playing Buck Compton in Band of Brothers, the slick menace of Fletcher in Minority Report, or absolutely chewing scenery as Damien Darhk in Arrow, he commits fully every single time. The fact that he also writes screenplays tells you he's not just showing up for a paycheck — he actually understands story. Hollywood has typecast him as a villain, and I get why, but part of me wishes the industry would let him stretch more, because the craft is clearly there.
Overview
Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), Fletcher in Minority Report (2002), Tin Man in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man (2007), Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and Damien Darhk in The CW series Arrow (2015–2016) and various series in the D…
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Neal McDonough
- Name (Japanese)
- ニール・マクドノー
- Reading
- にーる・まくどのー
- Born
- February 13, 1966 (age 60)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Horse
- Origin
- Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / screenwriter / character actor / film actor / television actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Barnstable High School
- University
- Syracuse University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.