Rob Lowe is easily one of the most diverse actors in Hollywood. Throw a comedy at him and he is charming and delightful or ask him to play the role of the only survivor of a firehouse, and you’ll see two very different sides to the actor.
In his TV series, 9-1-1: Lone Star, Lowe, 56, plays just that. A father of a son in the beginnings of adulthood, who survives 9/11 and moves them to Austin, Texas.
Streaming now on Disney+’s newest platform, Star, Lowe’s character, Owen Strand, is not unlike him — mostly due to the fact that it was written for the Parks and Recreation star.
“This is a very interesting role for me because it was written for me,” Lowe told POPSUGAR Australia in a round table interview.
“So this was not a case where they had this idea or wrote the part and then decided that it’d be a good idea to have me in it, they built the show around me.”
Lowe admitted that he had fun questioning what parts were actually based on him.
“I’ll get a script and go, ‘Oh, yeah, they think that’s me’,” he laughed. “It usually has to do with my obsession with being fit, or decor or skincare regimens. I mean, that’s definitely their way of tweaking me, kind of making fun of me.
“When Ryan Murphy first pitched the idea of me doing this part, he said, ‘You will play the only survivor in your firehouse of 911, who goes to Texas to rebuild his own house with his son — and you care incredibly deeply about skincare’. I was like, okay, yep, that’s me.”
The series also showcases intense and emotional scenes, something that Lowe calls “physical” and “gruelling”.
“I really feel like I’ve accomplished something because it is not an easy show to make,” he said.
“When I do comedies and I come home, I feel like I’ve just played all day, which is great and I love that. I’ll go back to it at some point, but it’s also satisfying to come home and feel like, oh, I’ve accomplished something. I left it all in the gym. I did my best and doing a show like Lone Star, for sure, it gives me that opportunity.”
You can stream 9-1-1: Lone Star on Disney+ Star now.
