The Batman Roles You Likely Didn't Know Yellowstone's Neal McDonough Played

Longtime fans of Paramount's hit Drama series Yellowstone will know Neal McDonough as ruthless businessman Malcolm Beck. Malcolm (alongside his brother Teal, played by Terry Serpico) served as the primary antagonists of Yellowstone's 2nd season, and they frequently butted heads with John Dutton (Kevin Costner) as they tried to take over the Dutton Ranch and the neighboring Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Their feud with the Duttons came to a head when the Beck brothers abducted John's grandson Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill), in an attempt to manipulate and blackmail the Duttons into doing whatever they asked.

The plan backfired after the Dutton clan stormed the house the brothers were keeping Tate in, gunning down the Beck brothers in the process. Though he only appeared in Season 2, Malcolm Beck's influence on the series is still felt to this day, as the trauma he inflicted on Tate Dutton is something that will never truly heal. Beck was a malicious, self-righteous villain who resorted to torturing a child, and (through the expert performance of McDonough) was easily one of the series' most detestable villains. In addition to his part in "Yellowstone," McDonough has also taken on several voice acting roles across several different "Batman" productions. Considering how unforgivably evil he is as Malcolm Beck, it might surprise some fans to learn that he's actually played both a superhero and a supervillain in two very different kinds of Batman stories.

McDonough lended his vocal talents to the 2014 animated film "Batman: Assault on Arkham," wherein he voiced the character of Deadshot. The film (which is set in the same universe as the highly popular Batman: Arkham video game series) is set about 2 years prior to the events of the game "Batman: Arkham Asylum," and follows the Suicide Squad as they attempt to break into Arkham Asylum to steal back sensitive information that was stolen by the Riddler (via the Screen Rant).

McDonough's Deadshot (real name Floyd Lawton) and the rest of the Suicide Squad serve as the main characters of the film, with Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy) serving primarily as a secondary character. Lawson is considered to be the world's deadliest assassin and was famed for his pinpoint accuracy with nearly every kind weapon imaginable. Deadshot serves as the de-facto leader of the Suicide Squad in "Assault on Arkham," and is an essential part of the film's story. Early on in the film he sleeps with Harley Quinn (voiced by Hynden Winch) and is forced to fight an enraged Joker (voiced by Troy Baker) near the end. He defeats Joker and escapes to reunite with his daughter, and the film's final scene is of him aiming a sniper rifle at Amanda Waller (voiced by CCH Pounder). We cut away before he pulls the trigger, but this ending makes it clear that McDonough's Deadshot is the true protagonist of the film, and an essential character in the "Arkham" series overall.

In addition to playing Deadshot, McDonough also voiced Damian Wayne (aka Nightwing) in the 2013 video game "Injustice: Gods Among Us" — a game in which he also voiced The Flash. "Injustice" is a fighting game that pits some of DC Comics most iconic heroes and villains against one another in a manner akin to games like "Mortal Kombat" and "Killer Instinct." The game's story saw a parallel-universe Superman turn into an evil dictator who ruled Earth through strength and fear. In retaliation, Batman creates a resistance organization known as the Insurgency, which splits the Justice League into two sides and forces Earth's heroes to battle one another. 

One of the heroes who joins Superman's tyrannical government (known simply as the One Earth Regime) is Damian Wayne: the son of that universe's Bruce Wayne. Sometime prior to the events of the game, Damian killed Dick Grayson (voiced by Troy Baker) who was known as Nightwing at the time. Damien took over Dick's title after killing him, calling himself Nightwing from that point on. Later in the game, Damian confronts his father and the two battle, with Batman eventually coming out on top. After winning, Batman denounces his son, claiming that Dick was always his true son and that Damian is essentially dead to him. 

After Batman and his allies eventually defeat Superman, Bruce Wayne arrests his son alongside the rest of the Regime — without showing a hint of remorse whatsoever.  McDonough's Batman roles are both surprisingly prominent, and neither "Injustice" nor "Arkham Assault" would be the same without him.