John Owen Lowe opens up about trying to get out of famous father Rob Lowe's shadow
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Rob Lowe and his famously chiseled jawline cast a long shadow. And no one understands that better than his son.
"I did experience pockets where I didn't have an identity because of what it was like growing up with a father who sort of sucks the air out of every room you're in with him," John Owen Lowe said in a new interview with Variety. The younger Lowe noted that he pushed aside "a ton of hesitation" to join his father onscreen in Netflix's Unstable, which premieres on March 30.
John P. Fleenor/Netflix Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe on 'Unstable'
"The show is about a son who wants to get out of his father's shadow, and I am literally a son who wants to get out of my father's shadow," said John Owen, who serves as an executive producer on the series alongside his father.
The eight-episode half-hour comedy stars Rob as Ellis Dragon and John Owen, 28, as his estranged son Jackson, who's tasked with keeping his biotech genius father focused on his potentially humanity-saving work instead of his grief for his lost wife.
While the series is inspired by the father and son, the end result is a mic of truth and fiction.
"Jackson's estranged from his dad. It never got that bad between my dad and me," John Owen says.
"[Jackson is] a little more socially awkward and lost than I am," he adds noting the differences between himself and the role he plays. "Ellis is a little less tethered to reality than my dad," he adds of his dad's character, "but it's not as far off as he would have you think."
"We would have these moments on set where his character would be complaining about my posture or what I'm wearing. They'd call 'cut' and he literally, without breaking concentration, would go, 'Are they chiseling your chin? I feel like they're lighting you too harshly. You need more definition on your chin.' And I'm like, 'No, no, no, no, we're not doing this here, in front of everyone.' It was very funny, cathartic, but also a little meta at times."
Speaking of chins, John Owen is aware that the "full facial physique" is where he and his father diverge.
"I like to tell him sometimes that he has a punchable face, and I don't have one of those because my jawline isn't quite as chiseled," he said.
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
