Revisited: The Power of Saying "Screw It" with Rob Lowe
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How did Rob Lowe turn a disastrous Oscars performance into a career lesson?
So you decide to do a sock and dance. For the opening of the Oscars.
Can't dance.
Okay. Okay.
I mean I didn't get Footloose for a
reason. For a reason, right. And it doesn't go well, is what you're saying?
Doesn't go well. Doesn't go well. Yeah. There was an open letter to the Academy the next day. signed by like Paul Newman and Gregory Peck and like this was an affront to our sensibility. How dare? I mean I looked I looked out in the audience and I saw Oh, it was the night Barry Levinson won ten Academy Awards for Rain Man.
Yeah.
And I literally Saw him. Mal what the fuck? Didn't go well.
To borrow a line from Heidi Klum, in Hollywood, one day you're in and the next you're out. But not for Rob Lowe. He has been a fixture since the 1980s, and has had decades worth of iconic roles, from St. Elmo's Fire to The Outsiders, to the West Wing to Parks and Rec. In an industry that chews him up and spits him out, how has Rob Lowe stayed relevant for so long? It's not just his good looks, and yes, he is very good looking. It's something else. The real secret to Rob's longevity is something more powerful. As he puts it, he's got a serious case of the fuckets. He likes taking risks, knowing full well that they don't always work out. But the thrill of doing something new is exactly the thing that has helped him find opportunities where others don't.
In addition to the movies and TV shows, he's also the host of the podcast Literally with Rob Lowe, and is host of The Floor, which airs its fourth season on September twenty fourth on Fox. This is a bit of optimism.
How old were you when you got famous? Young, very young.
I uh the first time w because then i i I it came and then went.
Oh. Really?
Yeah. 'Cause I got famous as a teen idol. Right. And then it didn't work. And W what was the thing that put you on the map? Mm-hmm. It was a a sitcom called A New Kind of Family and I was fifteen. And so, you know, you're the you're like the You were on the cover of Teen Beat? Yeah, all that all that stuff. Bop. Teen B So something about like maybe just 'cause I'm just a f fucking old pervert, there's something about
I just put it together. I never wait, I just put that together in this moment. The minute you said pervert, immediately I understood I had never made that association. Are they are they kidding with that? Bop but you were on the cover, that's worse. She Bop.
No no
I get it, but you were on the cover, that's the worst part. Yo
yeah. Where's a beat? I was a cover boy at fifteen. Yeah. Um, and then had a early midlife crisis at seventeen, sixteen and seventeen didn't work because they hired only eighteen year olds to play younger because of the child labor laws and how long you could work on a set, and I just didn't work for two and a half years and I thought I'd my career was over. And then I got the outsiders, and that was a whole other level. of fame and that's movie that's movie. That's movie. Mm that started it, yeah. Yeah.
Uh
Like
relatively. I'll go with relatively. It's
re rel relatively.
Yes. Relatively good. Because
I n there's a I have a friend who has a theory that uh when people achieve fame, any kind of growth that they have ceases. Oh, I I have a when they get when they're like child actors are screwed because they stop growing and they think that they think everybody says yes to is normal.
Yes, whenever I that's one hundred percent true, unless you Do you A ton of work on yourself. You're frozen in amber. Right. The
w the minute you get famous.
Yes, that's true. It's absolutely true.
So when people achieve adult fame they're a little more grounded 'cause they know where they came from, hopefully. They some forget it.
And they've ex well, and they also have experienced just by virtue of the of of of time, they've experienced more life.
But your career is kind of amazing because you have and this is a credit to you, you have been able to remain relevant for for a l forever. I mean, you were part of the the the brat pack back in the day. Yep. Mid eighties. Mid eighties. Early eighties, yeah. You know, John Hughes and and that crew.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Rob Lowe turn a disastrous Oscars performance into a career lesson?
0:00–4:57
2
How did Rob Lowe stay relevant by taking career risks like joining The West Wing?
4:57–13:13
3
How can you handle humiliation and bounce back from failure?
13:13–22:02
4
What does authenticity mean, and how can you stop self-editing?
22:02–32:03
5
Why does sharing your flaws make you more relatable?
32:03–36:13
6
How can you spot performative authenticity on social media and the red carpet?
36:13–51:15
7
Why should you meet your heroes but avoid getting to know them?
51:15–56:50
8
Why did Rob Lowe take the risk of hosting a game show, and what life lessons guide him?
56:50–1:02:20
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from A Bit of Optimism
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How to Trust Yourself When Everyone Has an Opinion with Love Thy Nader's Mary Holland Nader
What Happens When You Bet on Yourself with Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt