Neal McDonough is opening up about how he dropped 32 lbs. for his recent movie roles.

In The Last Rodeo, a faith-based film about a 50-year-old man returning to the sport of bull riding, which was released in May, the actor plays the main character, Joe Wainwright.

“If I’m gonna be that Clint Eastwood type of guy where there is this beaten down cowboy [and] something happens in his life where he has to come back and has another shot at finding himself and doing the right thing and being a great grandfather, being great dad, and being all those things, I figured he would always be this physical presence and he would always be in shape,” McDonough, 59, exclusively told Us Weekly. “He’s not the kind of guy who’s gonna be eating ice cream. He’s the kind of guy who’s gonna get up every morning, because he was in the Army. He has PT every morning and [does] it religiously.”

The former Suits actor credits Flip My Life, a health and wellness company, as playing a large part in helping him to lose the stubborn extra weight he’s been trying to shed for years. And most recently he’s gone from about 210 lbs. to 178 lbs.

“My weight was highest when I was doing Captain America 10 years ago at about 225 lbs,” McDonough told Us. “But then after I gave up alcohol several years ago, I was generally walking around 200-210 [lbs.] and couldn’t drop it. Finally, with high intensity workouts, long jogs, changing my diet and starting with Flip My Life, the last part I truly believe being the most important, I got down to 178 for the [Skillhouse] film.”

“I started immediately getting into clean shape and that was my goal. And I think I achieved it,” he said. “Everyone was saying, did you use steroids? I’m like, no, there was none of that. It was all just hard, hard, hard work of me getting up every day and hitting it hard.”

McDonough also said his former Walking Tall costar Dwayne Johnson taught him a valuable lesson when it came to creating a strong diet regimen.

“I learned from [him] in that you have your cheat days,” McDonough shared with Us. “I would wait for that Sunday to have my Mexican Coke and my croissants and pizzas and all kinds of other stuff. But the rest of the week I just ate very lean because I thought, ‘OK, [what] would Joe Wainwright eat? Joe Wainwright would eat a steak and that’s it. Joe Wainwright would have a chicken breast and that’s it. Joe Wainwright would have a bowl of fruit or maybe a salad or really simple stuff.’”

McDonough said he ate lots of chicken, vegetables and spinach and relied on kettlebells instead of heavy weight when working out.

“I used kettlebells till I would throw up,” McDonough told Us. “And then miles of running. There’s nothing special about it. If you wanna get in shape, it’s pretty simple — drink a lot of water, you do three miles a day and don’t eat any junk for a week. All of a sudden, your body will change.”

The Yellowstone alum is also starring in the new slasher film Skillhouse, alongside 50 Cent, Bryce Hall, John DeLuca and more. The film, which was released in theatres on July 11, follows 10 influencers as they complete challenges to stay in the Skillhouse and survive.

“This character brought me to some very strange places, which I love,” McDonough said. “Every once in a while, I get to play a character that kind of deviates from who I am 100 percent. I love testing my mind and my psyche and seeing where I can go. And it’s weird to say you had a wonderful time doing Skillhouse because I played this very dark, creepy, strange, bizarre character, but I really enjoyed playing him.”

“This is gory, this is the kind of slasher film that I really wanted to see, the ones that I like,” McDonough continued. “I think it’ll be a cult classic for a very, very long time, because it’s just so twisted.”