South African producer, Ruvé McDonough, has quietly been making a name for herself in Hollywood, bringing stories to film and television. Her latest project, The Last Rodeo, is a faith based, family film about overcoming obstacles. It's being pegged as “Rocky on a bull” — that’s the Hollywood pitch. It's more than that though. It's about getting up when you’re knocked down, doing the right thing and believing in yourself when no one else does. It's about looking at yourself in the mirror when all your options are gone and saying: “I can”. The Last Rodeo landed in South African theatres a few weeks ago and stars Ruvé's husband, Neal McDonough, who's acted in Captain America: The First Avenger, Flags of Our Fathers, Justice and The Minority Report.
The Last Rodeo is one of those hard luck stories with which people will, no doubt, identify and probably need to inspire them in the current climate. It's about giving your all for the people you love.
McDonough plays Joe Wainright, a 50-year-old former champion rodeo bull rider who's long been retired. He's a local legend. His grandson is diagnosed with the same form of cancer that took his wife (played by Ruvé — but more on that later). Treatment is out of their financial reach. Joe puts it all on the line to compete against much younger men, a new crop of rodeo hotshots to win the prize money that can give his grandson a shot at life.
With McDonough’s white-blonde hair and ice-blue eyes, fans of Tulsa King, Yellowstone and Suits will have no trouble recognising the character actor who's often cast as the bad guy. Given that he has a reputation for being one of the nicest, most polite actors in town, the bad boy casting makes no sense until you hear that the devout Catholic refuses to kiss anyone other than his wife on screen. With his traditional good looks and trajectory of critical and commercial hits, he could be a leading man — but leading men have to kiss the girl. He’s been fired for refusing to do so since marrying Ruvé. In fact, there’s a flashback in The Last Rodeo showing him kissing his deceased wife. McDonough, who co-wrote this against-all-odds story, suggested casting his actual wife and producing partner, Ruvé, as his on-screen wife, to get around his religious reticence, as he sees it, for kissing another woman — even for fame and fortune. Since his South African wife was the producer, she agreed. Problem solved.
The native of Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, grew up wanting to be an airline attendant, but at 6ft 3in (1.91m} was told she was too tall for the job. Ruvé headed to London in 1996 with the dream of becoming the next Cindy Crawford.
As the daughter of divorced parents, the youngest of two children grew up working many jobs for the thing she wanted — to help her single, working mum. She discovered beauty pageants, which often gave her a bonanza of prizes the family wouldn't have been able to afford. “There were cash prizes, a Vesper motorbike, a television and a cruise for two, which I took mum on,” notes the brunette beauty who retains soft traces of her South African accent.
This entrepreneurial spirit continued in the UK. While pulling modelling gigs, she worked in marketing and communications. She funded her college studies, earning extra cash hosting modelling and fashion shows. The avid outdoor hiker also netted the PR for some of London’s coolest night spots. In 2000, she met and fell for McDonough when he and the cast of the Spielberg mega hit, Band of Bothers, descended on 57 Jermyn Street, where she was working at the time. It was love at first sight.
Two years later, on a frosty Christmas morning, McDonough took Ruvé to his local church in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was snowing and the doors were locked. Neal suggested they kneel and pray. He dropped to the ground and before Ruvé could join him, he looked up at her and said, “Will you marry me?”
Everything that came before and since has honed Ruvé’s abilities as a producer. She explains her responsibilities and, like everything she handles, she makes producing sound easy. “It's what the name says. You produce something you create. Like producing five children (aged 11 — 19), or producing a film. You write it, get the financing, cast it, secure the director — make things happen. It helps to have a good partner by my side,” she says. “We had all five kids with us on the Tulsa, Oklahoma set while shooting. It felt like family time every day.”
Managing, producing and being a mother and wife, isn't easy. The gregarious wearer of multiple hats has this advice for women balancing life and career: communicate. “Men aren't mind readers. We have to communicate our emotions.” Also, the grass is greener where you water it. Make your spouse feel like they're the only one, as they should be. Hopefully they'll do the same. As a mother, talk to your children daily, ask questions, spend time. Children mimic what they see not what they hear. As a career woman, you get what you give. Be kind, and people will want to work with you.”
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