Actor Neal McDonough Talks New Action Movie ‘Boon’

Neal McDonough as Nick Boon in 'Boon.'

Opening in theaters, On Demand and digital beginning April 1st is the new action drama ‘Boon,’ which is a sequel to 2021’s ‘Red Stone.’

Directed by Derek Presley (‘Whitetail’) and written by Presley and actor Neal McDonough (‘Captain America: The First Avenger’), ‘Boon’ features McDonough reprising his role as deadly hitman Nick Boon.

Following the events of ‘Red Stone,’ Boon finds himself on the run and crosses paths with a widow named Catherine (Christiane Seidel). When local gangster Mr. Fitzgerald (Tommy Flanagan) threatens Catherine and her teenage son, Boon steps in to protect them.

In addition to McDonough, Flanagan and Seidel, the cast also includes Christina Ochoa (‘Animal Kingdom’), Jason Lee Scott (‘Mulan’), Gabrielle Carteris (‘Beverly Hills, 90210’) and musician Pat Monahan.

Actor Neal McDonough has been working professionally for over thirty-years! On television, the actor is best known for playing DC Comics villain Damien Darhk on ‘Arrow,’ ‘The Flash,’ and ‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ as well as portraying Malcolm Beck on ‘Yellowstone.’

On the big screen he has appeared in such films as ‘Star Trek: First Contact,’ ‘Minority Report,’ ‘Walking Tall,’ ‘Flags of Our Fathers,’ ‘RED 2,’ ‘Sonic the Hedgehog,’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ where he played Marvel Comics character Dum Dum Dugan.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Neal McDonough about his work on ‘Boon.’ The actor candidly discussed his new film, why he likes playing Nick Boon, making faith-based movies, and the possibility of filming another sequel.

You can read the full interview below or watch a video of our interview with Neal McDonough in the player above.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about returning to this character after ‘Red Stone’ and what you like about playing Nick Boon?

Neal McDonough: The thing I love about Nick Boon in 'Red Stone' is that it was kind of the Southern crime drama, and it was more of a thriller type of film than anything. Who's this guy? What's happening with this assassin that's coming after this kid? Then there's a turn of faith with Nick Boon, and he finds himself through this kid and realizes he can't keep doing what he's doing, and then takes care of the bad guys.

In 'Boon,' he just runs away from the world. He says, "I'm done. I can't do this anymore." Then he falls for this woman, which was the last thing he was thinking was ever going to happen because he still loves his wife and his kid, but they were killed because of something that he did. That pain just torments him. But then he falls for this woman, and now he has to protect her because these people are using her land for running guns.

Then to have Tommy Flanagan come in and just torch it up for us. I worked really hard on getting the best cast possible. With Tommy and everyone else that came on board, it made for a really fantastic film. We're so proud of what ‘Boon’ turned into and what part three, or maybe part four will be, or wherever we'll go with this franchise.

So, we're really blessed to be in this arena and to be able to make these Neo-Western types of films with a faith-based backdrop or faith friendly, as we like to call it. So, we're very fortunate and blessed to be in this world right now.

Neal McDonough as Nick Boon in 'Boon.'

MF: How important is it to you to be able to balance the faith-based aspects of the screenplay with the action and drama that audiences expect from this type of film?

NM: Well, I think it's very important to me. I think everyone knows that I'm a very devout guy when it comes to my faith. We're all sinners. We all make mistakes, every single one of us. It's great to see characters in film and television that are trying to be the best version of themselves all the time and fail a lot.

But it's the guys who dust themselves off and get it done in the end, they are the guys we really root for because those are the guys that we aspire to be in life. That's what I truly believe. I don't think anyone sets out to be a villain in life. They have their own agendas. My agenda is to do the best work I can for God while I'm here on this planet.

Now I get to make these films and do work that glorifies his name in these action films. People might say, "Yeah, but you’re killing people in these action movies.” Well, these things happen in real life. Life isn't just Goody Two-Shoes simplicity. There's a lot more to life. That's why life is such a struggle for all of us at times.

But I love writing and being part of these films where these guys go through all the problems of life, but in the end, somehow, they're the ones who figure out how to get the job done. Because, like I said, I think we all truly aspire to be guys like that.

(L to R) Neal McDonough and Tommy Flanagan in 'Boon.'

MF: In many ways Nick Boon is a villain, but he’s really the hero of his own story, can you talk about that?

NM: I love that. When I was playing all those villains, I was the hero of the piece for sure. That's the only way you could really play it, to tell the truth of a character, or else you're just playing badness. You can't really do that. The audience smells that immediately.

But if your villain is like the one I played in ‘Justified’ or ‘Yellowstone,’ the reason people really loved my villains is because it’s like, "Oh, I know that guy. He kind of lives next door. I think I had beers with that guy one night. Oh, I didn't know that about him."

So, those are the characters that I love playing when I'm playing villains, because I try to make them as human as possible and their agendas just go to the darker side of the scale, where the heroes just go to the whiter side. But there's the gray area in between that I love my characters to float around.

Nick Boon in ‘Red Stone,’ really floats around the gray area. First, you think he's towards the darker side. Then by the end of the film, you realize he's towards the lighter side.

The same thing happens in ‘Boon.’ In the beginning you think he is this really good guy whose just kind of run away from the world. Then you realize who he is and what he's done in his life, and now he has to go back towards the darker side of that gray area to get to finally be back on the white side with his love interest. I think that's fantastic for heroes in films.

MF: Finally, can fans expect more Nick Boon movies in the future? Are you working on the third film now?

NM: Yes, we're working on that right now. We're writing as we speak. It's a great time for me because westerns are hot right now. Everyone loves to see the simplicity of a western. Like I said, flawed good guys taking down the bad guys because they did something to their family. Simple messages that have been going on since the beginning of time. This is what we're doing, and we're having a heck have a time doing it.

‘Boon’ opens in theaters, On Demand and digital beginning April 1st.