For a lucky few, Hollywood is a family business, though that honor comes with its own questions when famous parents face accusations of nepotism for casting their children in the roles they play. Rob Lowe and his son, John Owen, are no strangers to this conversation, having worked together on a handful of projects over the years. While the quintessential member of the Brat Pack has no problem working with his talented offspring, he wouldn't dare cast him in a biopic about his life, and Owen has some thoughts on his father's casting choice.
In June, the father-son duo was interviewed by Entertainment Tonight When the 29-year-old actor asked his father who he would cast to play the elder Lowe if the powers that be in Hollywood decided to give a biopic about his life a 2025 release date, Lowe didn't need to think about the question and immediately mentioned Zac Efron's name before praising him for his work on A24. The iron claw.
While another child star might have been upset to hear that his father chose someone else for a role they could have kept in the family, Owen took the hypothetical choice in stride and agreed with his father. The topic came up in conversation again recently when the Unstable co-stars were interviewed by clockmojo. This time, the interviewer decided to direct the question to the actor/writer and asked him why Lowe wouldn't consider his own sole for the role in the biopic.
I think we both respect each other enough to know that I was never in the spotlight on that issue. I think maybe, politically, I would say “too close to home.”
There are many reasons why Lowe and Owen want to distance themselves from a hypothetical biopic about the 9-1-1: Lone Star The life of the protagonist. For one thing, it would bring up the dreaded nepotism argument again. There's also the simple fact that actors in biopics often receive a tremendous wave of hate for their portrayals of beloved characters. Perhaps, by casting Efron fictionally, Lowe was saving his son from that same kind of backlash.
Being the pro that he is, Owen took the interview question in stride and even added his own humorous take on the casting by saying that his father would be the one to benefit from Efron's casting and not the other way around.
Zac Efron would be a huge success. I think Rob would be honored by Zac. I think he would have to lose a lot of muscle mass before he could play Rob. I think he would do a good job.
While Efron definitely has the acting chops to handle another biopic, it's unlikely his phone will be ringing off the hook anytime soon for this particular job, as there's no Lowe movie in the works, as far as we know. As unfortunate as it may be, fans can still get their fix by tuning in. 9-1-1: Lone Star when it returns to television schedules in September 2024 for its fifth and potentially final season.
Fans can also watch Lowe and Owen as the fictional father-son duo on the streaming comedy. Unstable. The first season is available to stream on the service with a Netflix subscription, and the second season is on the way.