I’ve got to tell you first off that this is not an April Fool’s joke. This is a real life morality tale coming out of Hollywood. Now, Hollywood isn’t typically the place where we often find tales of moral strength, on screen or in real life. But character actor Neal McDonough isn’t your typical actor.

He has one of those faces you know from television and movies. He’s probably most remembered for his roles in “Band of Brothers” and the movie “Minority Report.” Last year he had a recurring role on “Desperate Housewives” as the resident lunatic on Wisteria Lane and this year he landed a starring role on an ABC series. That’s a huge break for any actor.

But just this week, McDonough was suddenly replaced by another actor while filming “Scoundrels.” Why? Because McDonough refused to do some “heated love scenes” for the show.

According to reports, McDonough has always made it clear that he won’t do sex scenes because he’s a Catholic family man.

Deadline reports:

“It has cost him jobs, but the man is sticking to his principles,” a source explained to me. You can’t help but admire McDonough for sticking to his beliefs, even if he’s poised to lose as much as $1 million in paydays…

That’s pretty amazing. For many people, $1 million would buy at least a little moral gray area. For this story to come out of Hollywood is especially amazing.

It seems to me that in this day and age it’s pretty remarkable that someone doesn’t leave their morals at the door of their workplace. I think some politicians who separate their morality with their work could learn a little something from Neal McDonough. Maybe we all could.