Tulsa King actor Neal McDonough reveals his character, Cal Thresher, will shock viewers during his final scene in the upcoming finale (November 23, 2025). According to the actor, he needed to convince the show’s director to keep the sequence in the episode because it seemed like it was too much.
McDonough told Us Weekly, “Wait until the final speech.” He explained that Cal gets so “emotional” in the last episode of Tulsa King season 3 that it would leave the audience in utter disbelief.
While he did not say anything specific about the moment, he did tell the publication that the director wasn’t sure if the speech should be cut or not. However, the actor fought for the scene to stay. He said that Cal is supposed to be unpredictable, and he didn’t want to end the season with viewers believing that he was a one-note character.
The director is like, ‘I don’t think you can do that, you’re Cal Thresher.’ I’m like, ‘Well, isn’t that more the reason why I should?’ He is completely misunderstood. I don’t want anyone thinking that Cal Thresher is one way when he might be a completely different way.
It was obvious during the interview that McDonough was incredibly happy with what he managed to pull off for his character. “It just makes me smile,” he explained.
McDonough joined the cast of Tulsa King in season 2 as Dwight “The General” Manfredi’s (Sylvester Stallone) rival in the marijuana business after Dwight moves from New York to Oklahoma. By the end of the series’ second installment, Stallone’s character spares Cal and takes over his operation. However, the relationship between the two still remains tense.
Tulsa King follows the story of Dwight, a New York mafia capo, who gets exiled to Tulsa. The series sees him build a new empire from the ground up while dealing with the dangers of the criminal underworld.
The crime drama stars many actors alongside Stallone and McDonough. Its massive cast includes: Andrea Savage (Stacy), Martin Starr (Bodhi), Jay Will (Tyson), Max Casella (Armand), Domenick Lombardozzi (Charles), Vincent Piazza (Vince), A. C. Peterson (Pete), Garrett Hedlund (Mitch), Dana Delany (Margaret) Tatiana Zappardino (Tina), Annabella Sciorra (Joanne), Frank Grillo (Bill), Chris Caldovino (Dennis), McKenna Quigley Harrington (Grace), Mike Walden (Michael), Beau Knapp (Cole), Robert Patrick (Jeremiah), Bella Heathcote (Cleo), and Kevin Pollak (Musso).
Tulsa King is available to stream on Paramount+ with new episodes coming out every Sunday.
- Release Date
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November 13, 2022
- Network
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Paramount+
- Showrunner
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Dave Erickson, Terence Winter
