Rob Lowe

Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom '' A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with roles in films like '' The Outsiders ''(1983), ''Class'' (1983), '' The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), '' Oxford Blues'' (1984), '' St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985), '' About Last Night...'' (1986), and '' Square Dance'' (1987). The success of these films established him as a Hollywood star.

By the turn of the millennium, his career saw a resurgence when he ventured back into television, making his breakthrough as Sam Seaborn on the NBC political drama '' The West Wing'' (1999–2003), for which he received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. His other television roles include Robert McCallister on the ABC drama '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2010), Chris Traeger on the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2010–2014, 2015), Ethan Willis on the CBS medical drama '' Code Black'' (2016–2018), and as Captain Owen Strand on the critically praised Fox drama '' 9-1-1: Lone Star'' (2020–present). In 2018, he made his directorial debut with the television film '' The Bad Seed'', a remake of the 1956 film of the same name.

Early life

Robert Lowe was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Barbara ( née Hepler), a teacher, and Charles 'Chuck' Davis Lowe, a trial lawyer. His parents divorced when Lowe and his younger brother Chad were young. Lowe was baptized into the Episcopal church. He is of German, English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry. On the show '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', Lowe found out that one of his ancestors, Christopher East, was a Hessian soldier. His ancestor was fighting under the command of Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall and was captured at the American victory at Trenton, New Jersey, on the morning of December 26, 1776. As an American POW, his ancestor was given a choice, and took the option to stay in the United States.

Lowe grew up in Dayton, Ohio, in a "traditional American setting". He attended Oakwood Junior High School before moving to the Point Dume area of Malibu, California, with his mother and brother.'' Vanity Fair''
Rob Lowe on His Early Years as an Actor, His Friendships with the Sheens and Tom Cruise, and the Movie that Launched His Career, The Outsiders
March 29, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.New York Times
He's Handsome — You Noticed? — but Not Just
on April 20, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012. In California, he attended Santa Monica High School, where he met Charlie Sheen. In his autobiography ''Stories I Only Tell My Friends'', he wrote regarding Sheen, "We were both nerds ..he wanted to be a baseball player."

Career

1970s

Lowe got his first professional acting role in 1976 when he was 12 and still living in Dayton. He played an errand boy in a production of ''Sherlock Holmes'' at the Wright State University summer theater. He landed the part by calling every local theater and asking each if there was a part for a child in a play. Lowe was paid $150 for the role. In 1979, Lowe landed the part of Tony Flanagan in the short-lived television comedy '' A New Kind of Family''.

1980s

One of Lowe's earliest roles came in the 1983 television film '' Thursday's Child'', for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film. He also appeared in the music video for The Go-Go's song, " Turn to You". His breakthrough role was his big-screen debut in 1983, when he and Emilio Estevez were cast in Francis Ford Coppola's '' The Outsiders''. Lowe played the role of Sodapop Curtis, the brother of the main characters Ponyboy Curtis ( C. Thomas Howell) and Darrel Curtis ( Patrick Swayze). In 1984, he starred opposite Jodie Foster in Tony Richardson's '' The Hotel New Hampshire''. Lowe and Estevez reunited in '' St. Elmo's Fire'', making them the two more prominent actors from the group known as the Brat Pack. '' About Last Night...'' followed, with Demi Moore (who had starred alongside Lowe in ''St. Elmo's Fire''). He then received his second Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the mentally disabled Rory in '' Square Dance'' (1987). In August 1987, he performed on stage, playing Baron Tusenbach in Chekov's ''The Three Sisters'' at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. He recalled meeting Paul Newman there, and that the older actor encouraged him to work in the theatre in 1993 when filming a British TV production of the Tennessee Williams play '' Suddenly, Last Summer'' with (the now) Dame Maggie Smith and Natasha Richardson.

1990s

Lowe appeared in 1994's '' The Stand'', based on Stephen King's book of the same name.

He played Sam Seaborn in the television series '' The West Wing'' from 1999 to 2003 (and briefly in 2006). His performance in the show garnered Lowe a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Lowe was drawn to the role because of his personal love of politics, and his longstanding friendship with Martin Sheen, who was cast as President Josiah Bartlet.

When the show premiered, Lowe was considered the lead, and the pilot centered on his character. But as the cast of the show—including Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Janel Moloney, Dulé Hill, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen (who was initially scripted as a small role), and Stockard Channing (whose First Lady was initially scripted as a guest role)— were all well-known actors, eventually Lowe's character was no longer the show's main focus. Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin soon found themselves at odds over the network's meddling with the show, most notably the network demanding changes in Lowe's character. Eventually, Lowe left the series, not long before Sorkin and director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme, resigned over a dispute with NBC.

During the final season of ''The West Wing'', Lowe returned to his role of Sam Seaborn, appearing in two of the final four episodes. In 2011, Lowe stated on '' The Oprah Winfrey Show'' that he left the show because he did not feel he was being respected, when the other lead characters received a raise and he did not.

2000s

After leaving ''The West Wing'', Lowe was the star and executive producer of a failed NBC drama, '' The Lyon's Den'' (2003). In 2004, he tried again in a series entitled '' Dr. Vegas'', but it also was quickly canceled.

Lowe passed on the role of Derek Shepherd of '' Grey's Anatomy'', which eventually went to Patrick Dempsey.

Despite his two canceled TV series and flops like '' View From the Top'' and the made-for-TV movie '' Perfect Strangers'' during his post–''West Wing'' run, Lowe found success in the TV miniseries genre. In 2004, Lowe starred in the TNT remake of the Stephen King miniseries '' Salem's Lot'', which was the highest-rated cable program of that summer and the highest ratings TNT original programming had at the time.

In 2005, he starred as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee in Sorkin's London West End production of '' A Few Good Men'', the first time the two had worked together since ''The West Wing''. Although Lowe had expressed unhappiness about his decreased role on that show at the time of his departure, he has now repeatedly said that any animosity between them is over and that he was pleased to be working once more with Sorkin.

That same year, Lowe starred in the miniseries '' Beach Girls'' on the Lifetime network, based on the Luanne Rice novel of the same name. The series premiere received the highest ratings for a movie premiere in Lifetime history. Later, Lowe filmed his supporting role as a movie agent in the 2006 independent film '' Thank You for Smoking''.

In 2006, he filmed ''The Perfect Day'' for TNT, in which he took a pay cut to film in New Orleans