Original-Cin Q&A: Unstable's Rob Lowe on Simpatico with his Co-Star Son and His All-Ages Fanbase
By Bonnie Laufer
One of the busiest actors in Hollywood, 59-year old Rob Lowe has vast movie and TV credits (The Outsiders, St. Elmo’s Fire, The West Wing, Parks and Rec) and can currently be seen every week in the hit series, 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Lowe also has a weekly podcast called Literally and is now starring in Unstable, a new comedy series opposite his real life son, John Owen Lowe.
The show centers around John Owen’s character Jackson Dragon who has to save his eccentric biotech entrepreneur father and his company from disaster.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Rob about the new series, acting opposite his son and the thrill of being recognized by different generations of fans.
Father and son Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe playing father and son in Netflix’s Unstable.
Unstable is currently streaming on Netflix
CLICK HERE to watch Bonnie’s interview with John Owen Lowe and Sian Clifford
ORIGINAL-CIN: Hey Rob, great to see you. This new series is really funny and I especially love the interaction between you and your son John-Owen. I absolutely love his eye rolls.
ROB LOWE (Laughs): There are plenty of those going on!
O-C: We all think we know Rob Lowe, but how much of you really is EllisDragon? Come on, Fess up.
LOWE: That's the fun of it. I don't even know the amount and if I did know the amount, I'm not sure I’d admit to the amount. What I can say is 100% of the show is absolutely based on my relationship with Johnny, how he sees me, how I see him, how I see myself. It's the true definition of meta. It really is.
O-C: Okay, I'll take it. Working with your son John Owen must have been a blast. I know you’ve worked together before as he writes for 9-1-1: Lone Star but for Unstable, you two really are in the trenches together 24/7. Did this make you at all apprehensive or nervous?
LOWE: You know, not really. It's been super fulfilling.
What I realized is that we share the same brain, and to have somebody like that as a producing partner, writing partner, acting partner was such a luxury.
I know if he's written a scene, I know I'm going to like it because we have the same taste. If he cuts a sequence, I'm going to look at it editorially the same and vice versa.
I kind of marvel at it and it makes me feel good as a dad. If I did anything wrong I’ll own it, but the one thing I did right was I raised a kid who has really good taste in comedy. And that makes me feel good.
O-C: You have been working non-stop since you were a teen. You are busier than ever and barely ever take a break in between projects. Where on earth do you get all of your energy because I am really jealous!
LOWE: I have a lot of energy, there's no question about that. I think energy begets more energy. You know what I mean?
I love doing Literally, the podcast. I get to talk to everybody. I love doing Lonestar because it gives me the opportunity to play sort of that traditional iconic leading-man stuff. And then I’m able to jump to Unstable, which is a goofy out-and-out big swing comedy.
It’s what you dream of as an actor, to have that kind of diversity of career and to be able to do them all at the same time. I mean, I am so grateful that I'm able to do it. I know how rare it is and that gives me the energy to do it.
O-C: When you look back at your amazing career between the shows, the movies and now with streaming and accessibility to this stuff, it's got to be so gratifying to have all these new fans watching.
LOWE: Oh my god, I see it all the time. What really got me was the 40th anniversary of The Outsiders. Every year there is a new crop of Seventh Graders who are discovering me through that.
People always talk about longevity of careers and if you don't have new fans coming in every year there isn't going to be a long career. I'm really lucky that between The West Wing, and Parks and Recreation, there’s another one that people who are a lot younger continue to discover..
O-C: And (the legal spoof series) The Grinder, short-lived but so funny.
LOWE: Yes, I loved The Grinder. That show is hands down my favorite comedy I've ever done. I feel like Unstable has elements of The Grinder. I think this character that I play in Unstable is a companion piece to The Grinder.