LOS ANGELES: Rob Lowe’s Outsiders fame transformed his teenage social life almost overnight, the actor told PEOPLE while discussing his new comedy “The Musical.”
Lowe, 62, said he had considered himself a “theatre nerd” and a young careerist before securing his feature-film debut in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 movie “The Outsiders.”
The actor grew up in Dayton, Ohio, where he performed in summer stock theatre and landed an early professional role in “Sherlock Holmes.” He later moved to California and attended Santa Monica High School.
Lowe said his dedication to acting initially separated him from classmates who embraced Southern California’s surf culture. However, that changed after he joined “The Outsiders.”
He recalled moving suddenly from outside the popular crowd to intense attention from young fans.
“The Outsiders” featured a young cast that included Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane and C. Thomas Howell.
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Lowe revisited those memories while promoting “The Musical,” in which he plays middle school principal Brady and also serves as a producer. The film opened in U.S. theatres on September 18.
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Giselle Bonilla directed “The Musical,” and Alexander Heller wrote it. Will Brill and Gillian Jacobs also star. The film’s school setting reminded Lowe of his own early stage work and experiences as a young actor.
