John Owen Lowe asks his father and famed actor, Rob Lowe, for career advice on acting. Rob shares insight from his long and colorful career such as when a role requires you to take a back seat, what aspect of the film industry has made him a better actor and the challenges he faced when first trying to get work. It's also revealed John Owen Lowe hasn't seen 'West Wing' yet!
00:00As someone who's worked on hundreds of projects,
00:02hundreds, I'm hung up on that.
00:05You think it's a hundred, how many do you think it is?
00:08Hundreds.
00:09Hundreds.
00:10How about this?
00:11I've done hundreds of just episodes of television.
00:14Right.
00:15We get projects.
00:16But that is just, one show would be one project.
00:21Yes, of the hundreds I've done.
00:23You still think it's hundreds?
00:24Yeah, I do.
00:25Okay.
00:26You can go on IMDB and check it out.
00:29I mean, Entertainment Weekly, it's Entertainment Weekly.
00:31That's right.
00:32Not Mistaken Facts Weekly.
00:34I screwed up focusing on that.
00:40When you start playing a scene with someone for the first time,
00:42what are the telltale signs that they really know what they're doing?
00:45It goes back to the David Mamet thing about being honest.
00:49Like you can tell honesty in an actor's work very, very quickly.
00:53That's why I'm always blown away.
00:55And I know you and I talk about our favorite moments in movies all the time.
00:59And we always love the same things with these little tiny, usually by characters who may only have one or two lines.
01:06Yeah.
01:07And you can kill if all you're doing is being honest and you're not trying to stand out.
01:15You're not trying to put any topspin on the ball, put any mustard on it.
01:20You're just doing what's required for the story.
01:25John Spencer used to get more mileage out of, thank you, Mr. President.
01:31He could make thank you, Mr. President mean a hundred different things.
01:37Thank you, Mr. President.
01:38Thank you, Mr. President.
01:39Thank you, Mr. President.
01:40Thank you, Mr. President.
01:42But it was always in service of the story.
01:46Notice he didn't say no.
01:48You're famously a big part of the longest walk and talk shot in the history of the West Wing.
01:54How did you handle the technical challenge of that?
01:57Hold on.
01:58I must be reading this wrong.
01:59Is it asking me how you walked and talk on camera?
02:04That can't be right.
02:05We'll go to the next question.
02:06I had really, really important things to say about it.
02:09I'm sure you did, man.
02:10Real people want to know.
02:12Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine.
02:15Let me read it again.
02:16No, I'm kidding.
02:17How did you handle the walk and talking?
02:21When you say it like that.
02:24That's the question.
02:26How did you handle, they're not asking me how I handled walking and talking.
02:31Is there like, is there, it's, I must not, I got to watch the show.
02:35I remember this, I think it was the third episode we ever did.
02:38And it starts with, in a ballroom with like 250 black-tied background artists.
02:45President comes off.
02:46We file in.
02:47We have a conversation.
02:48We walk through the lobby.
02:50We walk into the kitchen.
02:51We walk down a flight of stairs.
02:54We go into a parking garage.
02:56We walk across the parking garage.
02:58He gets in a limo and rides off.
03:00It's, I think, 11 and a half pages.
03:04It's the entire teaser.
03:05And it's a one-er?
03:06And it's a one-er.
03:07It starts the show.
03:08Our cast is in it, along with guest stars.
03:13So I just remember, at one point, I had to be in the front of the scrum talking to the
03:18president.
03:19Then let other actors come up and have their moments.
03:22And then I had other lines.
03:23I had to work our way up.
03:25We rehearsed it for six hours, went to lunch, and then shot for nine hours.
03:34We did 35 takes, some of them uncompleted.
03:39I think we had five completed takes.
03:42And we never finished it.
03:44The producer just pulled the plug.
03:46Whoa.
03:47There was never a moment where we went, oh, we got it.
03:49Never happened.
03:51Because inevitably, at some point in that, the line would be, oh, Mr. President, by the
03:56way.
03:57And somebody would say, mm, Mr. President, by the way.
03:59And Aaron would take his earphones off and go crazy.
04:02Oh, wow.
04:03On Parks and Rec, as a group, how did you develop that sense of when to play something big versus
04:11when to take a backseat to someone else?
04:13That's a good question.
04:14So, like, when you let somebody else have their moment.
04:17I feel like you and I have talked about that, too.
04:19That's the beauty of working in an ensemble, which I love.
04:23Being on a team and, like, knowing when it's your solo and knowing when you're playing underneath.
04:31You know, knowing when, and it's an art.
04:34And there's, because it has the perfect amount of generosity and competition.
04:41Ron Swanson.
04:42Ron Swanson.
04:44Okay.
04:46I'm Deputy Director Leslie Knope.
04:48Leslie Knope.
04:50It is fantastic to be here.
04:53All of the great ensembles.
04:55And I've been super lucky because Comedic Ensemble, Parks and Rec, Dramatic Ensemble,
05:00West Wing, I put them up there with any that I've ever been.
05:03And the commonality in the actors is each actor has an amazingly unique, equal part competitive
05:13murderer and unbelievably generous.
05:19And you don't get the results without both.
05:23I mean, you know, Chris Pratt is as funny as any person who's ever lived.
05:28Yeah.
05:29And he knows where to sit in the pot.
05:30Same with Amy Poehler, Aziz, Nick, Rashida, Retta, you know, Jim O'Hara.
05:36I mean, everybody is a killer.
05:38Okay.
05:39Aside from just acting, you've directed and we've also both worked as writers and producers.
05:45What have you learned from being in all those other positions that's made you a stronger actor?
05:49It's a good question.
05:50Yeah.
05:51For sure.
05:52The thing that's helped me most is being in the editing room and learning the technical discipline of editing.
06:02It's made me a way better actor.
06:04You learn what's important and when it's important based on what you're going to put together in an editing room.
06:10And I think every actor should spend time in an editing room.
06:14I completely agree.
06:15And writing too.
06:16I think.
06:17Yeah.
06:18Seeing how the, so much of that initial script breakdown, I'm co-opting part of this answer.
06:25You should.
06:26But the amount of younger actors I've worked with or even like help self-tape and they don't necessarily fully know how to break down pages or like read the subtext.
06:36What was the David Mamet quote about that?
06:38Oh, well, it's very controversial because a lot of actors don't like David Mamet's, they interpret Mamet's worldview as actors should shut up and say the words.
06:50Right.
06:51Which is actually not what he's saying.
06:53No.
06:54What he's saying, he says an actor's job is not to provide the drama.
06:59Hmm.
07:00That's great.
07:01That is the writer's job.
07:03The actor's job is to tell the truth.
07:07Well said.
07:08What character do you think is the most similar to you that you've ever played?
07:11And what do you think is the least similar to you?
07:13It's a combination of Chris Traeger and Sam Seaborn.
07:16Okay.
07:17They're the most similar.
07:19I've never seen the West Wing, so I don't know.
07:21It's a good show.
07:22This is sort of like a distant father on that show or something?
07:26It's a good show.
07:27Okay.
07:28But you knew who Aaron Sorkin was.
07:29I love Aaron Sorkin.
07:30But you didn't even watch the West Wing.
07:32I'm sure it's great.
07:33Okay, who is the farthest from you?
07:37The farthest?
07:38Oh, like my character in Behind the Candelabra.
07:41But first, we gotta slim him down.
07:44I have a terrific diet.
07:46The California Diet.
07:48Guaranteed loss of 15 pounds in four weeks.
07:52I thought you might say that.
07:54And I'm not sure that's true.
07:55You're not sure?
07:56Am I starting to look like him?
07:57The vanity in that character is not that far.
08:02It's not.
08:03It's part of the job.
08:04I feel like I've heard you use the phrase the California Diet before.
08:08Listen, if there was a California Diet, I would try it.
08:11So shut up.
08:12That guy's...
08:13You're locked in on that.
08:14Okay.
08:15Just truthfully, I'll say I feel like I've seen you do a lot of Rob Lowe ass.
08:22And I would love to see you in like, where's your like, the wrestler?
08:27You know what I mean?
08:28Where's my wrestler?
08:29Something like that.
08:30Where you have...
08:31Behind the Candelabra is my wrestler.
08:32You're in it for eight minutes.
08:34There are no studies that show it's addicting.
08:36It's perfectly fine.
08:38You look terrific, by the way.
08:39You know what I mean?
08:41I'm wrestling.
08:42What were the challenges you faced in trying to get work when you first started out?
08:47And how do you think that's changed for young actors today?
08:51Now that the industry is so different.
08:53Wow.
08:54Wow.
08:55Oh my gosh.
08:56Well, so...
08:57There's 10 billion trillion percent more opportunity today.
09:05But I think it's harder to have longevity today.
09:10There's so much more to be done with your entertainment time.
09:14You know, when I came up, if you were in something that was a hit, nine out of 10 people had seen it, could talk cogently about it.
09:25Now there could be a hit.
09:26And so we go, yeah, that's the thing on the what?
09:28It's the...
09:29Oh, yeah.
09:30Wait, is that on Hulu?
09:31No, it's on Net.
09:32Wait, when is it?
09:33How many?
09:34What?
09:35And it's a hit?
09:36Yeah.
09:37So we just live in a completely different era.
09:41And...
09:42I mean, I can speak for you because you've told me this so many times, but I know you've told me when you were coming up, there felt like there at least was a means for you to just be an actor.
09:54Yes.
09:55Or just be a writer or just be a director.
09:57Not that there's not now, but it's...
09:59I know you told me when I was younger, like, diversify yourself, because there's more need for that nowadays.
10:06It's demanded.
10:07Yeah.
10:08I mean, this is gonna sound insane, but there were...
10:12The A-list stars of the day, the respected...
10:16They wouldn't dirty their hands by promoting their movies.
10:22It's beneath them.
10:24And...
10:25And look at us now.
10:26And look at us now.
10:27Okay.
10:28Who is your mentor?
10:29Um, Bernie Brillstein, my very first manager, legendary manager who discovered Jim Henson and the Muppets and everybody on Saturday Night Live.
10:38You'd always say, I wanna make sure I get this right.
10:41It's better to be a hit in a s**t than a hit in a s**t.
10:47Did I just say that right?
10:48You said the same thing twice.
10:49Is that what I said?
10:50I said, yeah, I have to f**k it up.
10:51Wait, here we go.
10:52Because I'm like, there's...
10:54That's kind of profound.
10:55If that's what he did, I kind of understand.
10:57It's better to be a hit in a s**t than a s**t in a hit.
11:01Ah, yeah.
11:02Okay.
11:03I can't help but notice your overly long hair, in my opinion.
11:09Yep.
11:10And the earrings.
11:12Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:14I had really long hair and earrings in St. Elmo's Fire.
11:18I'm just saying, did you...
11:20Is this all kind of a...
11:22Is it what?
11:23Inspired?
11:24It's homage?
11:25No.
11:26I've never even seen it.
11:27How would I know?
11:28How would I...
11:29How can you be inspired by something you haven't seen?
11:31I'll leave it to the viewers.
11:32Do you believe a word of it?
11:34Are you putting your now?
11:35How could you be aware of it?
11:37Come?
11:38The music that we know is already featured at the end
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