John Owen Lowe: No Drip, No Rizz 59:09

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Hey, everybody. It's literally and it's me, and today is a very special day. A very special day that I may live to regret. I've let the fox into the hen house. John Owen Lowe, my son, is my guest. We are together in the studio today in honor of the great news that our show...

that we co-created together and star in called Unstable, which is currently streaming right now on Netflix, is getting a second season. Yay! And so here to talk about that and God knows what else is going to come out of this young man's mouth. I don't know. Fair warning. I have no control over him. Here we go. What's your favorite episode of Literally, would you say? I don't think I've ever heard one. I'm not kidding.

Mom got really mad that I didn't listen to hers. She's livid. I don't think I've ever heard one. I think I've heard snippets. I've heard... What is your exposure then to this podcast? Your Instagram feed, you'll post what guest was on and if it's somebody I'm interested in.

I'll go, yeah, I should listen to that. And then I make it like three to five minutes in and you're talking a lot. I'm talking a lot. Yeah, you're sort of co-opting their space. Do you think I co-opt people's space on this show? Yeah, I do. I do in my experience. From what I've heard. But again, I'm not a good test of that. So you would like this show better...

if I were just straight asking questions. Well, I mean, I'm biased, right? So it's like I hear your voice and I go, okay. So it could be anything. You could just say, oh, that's really interesting. And I might turn it off. So you don't... I'm kidding. It's not that bad. But no, I, you know, you had Eric Andre on. I think I listened to a lot of that one. Ugh.

What? I just can't think of any others. You can't think of any others? I don't know. I've heard you on other podcasts that you've popped into a few podcasts that I will listen to. I'm happy to promote another podcast on your podcast. Yeah, well, go ahead. Fire away. Who's good? I liked you on Smartless. Those guys. I know. It's like liking the Yankees. It is.

By the way, you brought our dog to the studio today and he's now standing on the control console. Oscar. Come here, buddy. Oh, he's just going to sit there now. He's being a very good dog. So what, I mean, so here's my question for you. Yeah. Well, listen, I'm happy when people take the show over. I'm sure you are. Did you have to do prep for this? Yes.

What was your prep? I didn't want to humiliate you. I've seen your sheets. Yeah. They lay around the house, your prep sheets. Yeah. So I'm curious as to what mine was like. Short. I would hope so. I didn't want to have a sheet for you because it'd be embarrassing because it would say...

Filmography. Yeah. And it'd be like, there'd be like three things. It would be a cue. It's a, it's a cue card and it just has my birthday on it. So you don't forget. And then like how old I am, which son I am. Like this is the, it says, this is not the one that you spoke to this morning.

That's right. And I don't mean to be mean because this is a public record, but it's like the sheets they give Biden. You walk into the Oval Office. You take questions for five minutes. Yeah. You leave like I you think that I have that for you. It's like this is not Matthew. That's right. John Owen. He has a second son.

Yeah, I think names are probably even dangerous for you. They are. So it just says like, you know, the slightly blonder, maybe, you know, more built, less positive son. And then you go, oh, great, that's that one. Well, I don't mix you guys up because you have a tattoo now. I have three tattoos. That's right. I don't consider those other ones tattoos. They're too small. That's not small. No, that's tattoo.

And this is not small. The other one is small. Describe for our listeners the new tattoo you got. It is a frog looking through an empty glass. And you can see the reflection of the frog through the glass. It's original. It's cute. I don't know. I like it. I actually like it. I'm down with it. I've been out of a job for...

Quite a few months. I got my ears pierced and a tattoo. It's not going well for me. And you're painting now. That is going well. Yeah, I'm painting now. And you're painting now. I am. And I'm enjoying it. I inspired you. You did. No, no. You 100% inspired me to paint. But it's interesting because...

It's in our family. My great-grandpa was a WPA painter. What is that? Work Projects of America during the Depression. Thank you. During the Depression.

Um, the government paid artists to paint and he was one of them. And then of course my brother Justin is a well-known installation artist. Yeah. Justin's work is really, I think having now have more, having more experience with sort of the physical medium of art, like paints or whatever you want to call it.

I can see Justin's work and go, oh my God, that's, I can't imagine how much time some of this stuff would take. Yeah. It's incredible. His, you know, his work is on the walls on Unstable on the set. That's all Justin's work. That's what I remember that. Yeah. Those are all his pieces. We would have been screwed with the Unstable set because, you know, you need really expensive contemporary art in those. Right. In those kind of modern laboratories. Yeah.

So thank God Justin Love, shout out to Justin Love for providing the art on the wall for Unstable. For what? You've already forgotten about it? Feels like a lifetime ago. You're just been cowed by whatever, like don't talk about your...

shit in the writer's strike. You know, I was a company man. You walked, you were on the picket line the very first day of the writer's strike. And many other days. Yeah, it's true. Many other days. It's true. Oh yeah. Give me some, give me some, uh, I mean, I, I was on the line for, for, uh, I saw you out there. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did my thing. Um, but my experience on the picket line is obviously different than yours. What was, uh, you have any takeaways? Uh,

I will say this, you know, to not take this opportunity to crack a joke or anything. I think I was always taken aback at how positive the writers and actors and IATSE members that were there to support and, you know, pre-SAG, pre-WGA folks, everyone there was.

was always carried themselves with an energy that was very welcoming and encouraging. And, you know, you'd expect to go there and it would be

a bunch of defeated folks out of work and it wasn't like that. So I always had a good time. I mean, you keep your wits about you, you know, you're not there to have like a, like I never felt like I was there to party or for a celebration because it stinks. You know, we're out of jobs, we're putting other people out of jobs and it's for a common goal. So you're not like hooping and hollering around, but it's, there's a certain necessary part

encouragement and positive energy that they always maintained and the strike captains and yeah it's there's one five six months how long was it five months long time yeah that's a long second longest strike we've ever had are you excited to go back to work yeah I'm so excited I don't know if you can hear my stomach right now but my stomach is excited I haven't eaten today me neither really

Are you doing intermittent fasting? I am. You need it. And I'm starting a bone broth cleanse on Thursday. Good for you. It's about time. Well, I'm going to be on camera in a month now. We're starting because now that the strike is winding down slash over, we start season two of Unstable. That's right. Let's go. Listen, congratulations, man. It's see.

you know, you're new. I hope you realize how incredible the accomplishment is of getting a show on the air, then getting a show picked up for season two. It's a big deal, man. It reminds me of the time when I came to you to talk about Grace Point, which is this independent film I did a couple years back. And I forget what the auspices were under which this was said, but you were like, let me tell you something. Everybody always remembers their first leading role. And I was like,

Well, you say that as if that's a common thing. It is. I still don't understand. I don't understand the point of that story. Because you act as if there's a playbook because you've been doing this for so long. You forgot how I think like, you know, normal people. Oh, Oscar's on the control panel. It's like saying like everybody remembers their first kiss. Yes. How many people do you think are doing leading roles? Oh, I see. It's the word everybody that threw you. Yeah. Yeah.

So, it would have been more impactful for you had I said, you know, the actors who have the opportunity to play leading men. No. It wouldn't have ever been more impactful. Everything you say sort of has a... Okay. Well, let me give you a lesson here. Oh, boy. So, when you're doing publicity, which this in theory is. Okay. I've...

I threw you a fastball, not even a fastball, a batting practice right down the middle pitch to hit out of the park to talk about unstable. And instead you pivoted

to your first leading man project that will probably never see the light of day. Hold on. Give it to me again. I'll try it again. Give me the setup again. And then use it as an opportunity to come after me. That's always going to happen here. I understand that. But you could at least do it in the context of the show that's based on that relationship. But then that's contrived. What I just did was organic.

That was our natural dynamic, was me finding a sort of an organic, whimsical way of knocking you at the knees. And see what I would say as your father. Yeah. It's another example of you not owning your own space. Oh, perhaps. You know what I mean? Of like being too, look, I'm very happy and proud that you're a humble. No, you are. You're like very, very humble and, you know, grounded.

But on the other part of it is like, you got to own it, man. You, you were, you know, you, you, you have accomplished something cool. And yeah, I struggle with that. I mean, you know, I struggle with that. It's difficult. It's difficult to come from privilege and have a lot of help and connections and simultaneously own, you know, the amount of work that,

an effort that's gotten you to where you are because you kind of have, at least the way my brain works, is you have to balance the scales and go, okay, yeah, I've really worked my ass off and I'm really proud of what I've done and I also need to acknowledge how much help I've gotten along the way. And I think I tend to overcorrect and just stay quiet about that other stuff and just go like, yeah, you know, I'm grateful for the help.

But that's also served me well in my life. I just, I think by default, people expect, you know, quote unquote, nepo babies to be shitheads. And a lot of them are. And so I think overcorrecting is better than undercorrecting. I can't argue that. I can't argue that. But like even before you were a nepo baby...

When you were just a little guy. Before you had done the direct TV commercials, you mean. That's what made you a Nepo baby? Well, that's when you were famous. By the way, that is true. I never felt more famous. It's true. In my career, never have I felt more famous.

than during those direct TV commercials. Because they aired all the time. I'll give you credit for your acting. I'll say that there was another moment recently where it felt like you've nearly, I think you've achieved it. I think you're back at that status. And I think it's Atkins. Nothing on film or television. But that ad space, man. That's where it's at, man. You got that down. That's where it's at. You got to have a side hustle. Maybe it's your main hustle.

It might be. I'm down to clown with that. Does Oscar need to go on the ground? No, Oscar's very happy to be standing up here. He's a good dog. Maybe he wants to go down. Let's see. You want to go down? Hang on. I'm going to put this dog on the floor. Oh, good dog. Go on. He's shedding everywhere. Go on. There he goes. This humanizes you. This is good for you. Is it? Well, I mean... I have my pup rune here. All right. So feed me the unstable. Let's see how I do this take two. Okay. Take two. So John Owen...

Are you excited about season two of Unstable? And, you know, the fact is you co-created it and are going to be back writing it and finishing up the storylines as well as acting. It's a lot on your plate. How are you preparing? Gosh, well, I'm just so excited to get back to it. That's awful. Yeah.

You didn't even let me. And to get to work with you, you know, to work with a hero of mine. Nobody believes that. Listen, here's the thing. Your intonation. It's like, here's the thing. When you start, I always know when you start acting. Oh, boy. When you start acting, your brow froze up. But to be clear, I'm never acting. And then there's a part of you that sounds angry.

That's why I give you the direction. That's why I'm in therapy. Say it with a smile. Okay. An interior smile. When you come at it with an interior smile. How about now? You look like George Michael when you put those glasses on. How about now? Where's the camera? You're dressed like you're in Wham right now. Wham. Okay, wait. Give it to me one more time and I'm going to do it like I'm here on a press tour. Well, you look a little, because the glasses you're wearing literally are the glasses I wore in 1985. Okay.

70 years ago. Vintage Persols. That's what they are, yeah. Yeah, they're vintage Persols. Believe me, I know what they are. They might be yours. Actually, they might be. Really? I'm not sure. Where'd you get them? Did you steal them from me? From, I think, mom's closet. No way. Yeah. But years ago. Years and years and years ago. Those are my Persols. Is Oscar being loud now? He's snapping. Let's see how loud he gets during this interview. What is it, Oscar? What is it? Hello, buddy. All right. Um...

Okay, wait, let me go again. Let me try the third try. Feed it. Shorten, truncate your intro. How are you preparing for season two of Unstable, which starts shooting in three weeks? To get to work with you is such an honor that there's very little I can do. I can't really control myself. I just have been rewatching some of your greatest hits. I'm on Atomic Train currently. I just did The Christmas Shoes before that.

And what did I do before that? One of 10 Lifetime movies. And I have 10 more to go. There's about 20 of them. And what's really incredible about your acting style is how diverse it is. You're always throwing down different moves, yet your face never changes. And I mean that literally. You don't... So like Redford, maybe? No. More like... Like Newman. The way Kim Kardashian's face doesn't change. Yeah.

What about like no when you're smiling versus when you're not smiling it's hard to tell the difference. What about say so more like a John Wayne thing. Yeah that seems right. How many minus the like badassery. What about so how many how many West Wing episodes did you watch and prep. I like that show though. That's something I can like without having seen it.

If you weren't on it, I would watch it. It's hard for me to watch that. If you want me to be serious, it's hard for me to watch that. It's a serious, very, you know, well-written, high-stakes drama. And then all of a sudden, your stupid face pops up. What do you want me to do about that? Well, let me ask you this, though.

So it falls into the category of things you like without having seen them, liking it, enjoying it, and with no need to actually ever see it. I think we all have those things. Oh, I was going to say 100% we do. Sounds great. You know, you go, sounds great. I'm sure it's wonderful. Love it. Don't need to see it. Won't see it. It's the way I feel about the bear. I like that. I like that take from you. That's funny from you. I love the bear. I watched the bear.

And I can watch it and go, yeah, you don't need to ever see that. I don't. No. And by the way, I'm sure you can admit it's a great show. It's a great show. And you've never seen it. Saw the pilot. That was all I needed to see. I get it. I mean, there's only so much drama I can take around making a sandwich. Okay. That's a bad take. Is it? Is it? Now you've moved into a bad take area because there's more to it than that. It's a...

It's like any great show. There's a lot of agita about getting a sandwich made in that pilot. That's all I can tell you. But it's, you know, it's a physical sort of representation metaphor of what he's going through as a character. Oh, I see. No, it's great. It's, I don't watch much. No. Well, you don't have a lot of time. You're busy. I'm busy painting now. Yeah.

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Qualifying plan required. Wi-Fi were available on select U.S. airlines. Deposit and Hilton honors membership required for 15% discount terms and conditions apply. So what is your major grievance you have with me as a father? Let's just get it out. Let's pretend this is the, what is it, the red table? I'm surprised you know that reference. Hey, man, I'm hip. I'm with it. I'm cool. I'm hip.

Who's that? Is that Lorne Michaels? Dr. Evil. Right. So Lorne Michaels. My main qualm with you as a father is that you, I don't know, maybe that you tried to get me to, you were so, you said, I have such strong hair genes. I need to make sure you carry that baton. So you wanted me to go to a hair doctor when I was 21 to make sure my hair was strong. That might be one of them. Yeah. Yeah.

That's it. Just, yeah. For sure. Okay. Now here's my, my qualm with you. If you could see yourself right now. I forgot I have the sunglasses on. Yeah, that's better. There's only one person who gets to wear sunglasses all the time and talk to people. We know who that is. Dion. Stevie Wonder? Dion Sanders. Dion's the man. Dion Prime. Coach Prime gets to wear sunglasses whenever he wants. By the way, talk about a father-son relationship that's badass. Yeah.

Yeah. His son might, he'll be a Heisman candidate. For sure. And look at me. Oh, what a good dog. He's a sleepy. This is just. Talk to me more about me. So it's like a family dinner. Talk to me about me and what I'm like to, what's it like to stand and behold me?

standing in the light of a movie camera. What the fuck kind of question is that? That is so unhinged. And I know it was like partially a bit, but there was enough reality in that that it really bummed me out. To behold you, I don't know, in front of a movie camera or whatever you say is stupid. Yeah.

It was one of those bits that fell apart. Really fell apart. As it was coming out of my mouth, it was falling apart. Maintain myself. All right, try again. Take two. What, if anything, did you learn working with me as an actor? Better question. My serious answer to that might be that you are more professional than I had thought you might be. Interesting. In the sense that when you come to set,

Although you are, your life is generally chaotic and you have a sort of disgruntled nature about you. When someone, you know, says, take your mark or whatever and then calls action, you're present in a way that is, it was almost like, oh, there he is. And then they call cut and it's like, you know, your seventh cup of coffee and a sleep mask and you're in your trailer.

And then they wake you up as a human being again to go, you know, I mean, you've been acting for what? My bit is always to be like 70 years, but how long has it actually been? Well, I mean, the first time I started acting, I was eight. Don't do that. Like when's the first time you were in front of a camera acting? Getting paid professionally. Yeah. I was 13.

So what? 50-ish years? Yeah. Around 50. Yeah. That's a long time. It's a long time. It's a long time. It's a lot of time in the saddle. What do they say about how many hours? 10,000. 10,000. You definitely, you far surpassed that. For sure. And you look like you have too. But you just told me my face didn't change. I don't know. I can't keep my bits straight. I know you really can't. What do you want to know about me?

Who are you dating? Oh my God. Okay, back to you. No, you opened it up.

Uh, dating myself right now. Oh, don't give me that. Yeah, exactly. I know when I call you and you're like, yeah, um, can I, can I call you back? I'm just, I'm just walking the dog. I know that's not true. Here's my, here's my. I also know when I call you go, what are you doing? I call you at home. I'm just, I'm just, I'm just hanging out. Um, yeah. Can I call? I just want to call you right back. I'm just finishing something up. Oh,

The dog is jumping and yelling. I have him trained to do that when you're asking stupid questions. Why are you jumping up here like a fish? First of all, how dare you? We might need to...

He may need to go not in here for a little bit. Take him in there. Maybe Miguel should come walk him. Is that a possibility? Yeah. I did just feed him, so he must have a lot of energy. I'm going to test. You're a good boy. You're a very good boy. I'm calling Miguel right now. I like when the podcast gets like this. It's real. Hey, man, this shit's real. Hey, Miguel, can you come get Oscar in the studio? He needs a walk. Yeah.

All right. Thanks. So to answer your question, I'm also, you know, when I think I'm calling your mother. Oh my God. Let's get her on the show. Please. People have been clamoring to have her back. Hello. You're on the, you're on the podcast now with me and Johnny live. What Johnny is trying to tell me that he doesn't have a girlfriend. Honestly, or that he's not dating. He's dating himself. He just said. So Johnny's his own girlfriend now.

Well, that's kind of what he's implying. He's just implying that he's like some monk. Are you telling me you're celibate? I can't. First of all, this whole conversation is so boring to me about Johnny and who he's dating because the redundancy of our curiosity and his aloofness about it has finally desensitized me. Well, I don't know if she can hear me, but most of this conversation has been aloof.

But I'm always interested, always interested in hearing about Johnny. I just wish that he'd meet a nice girl. I mean, you know, girls probably are nice, but one that's more compatible for him. And it exists out there. Although I don't know how people date anymore. Rob, do you? No. I mean, there's probably really nice dating services like, you know, Bumble. Are you on Bumble? Are you on Bumble? Or what's the other one?

Just let me know when this whole bit is over. This is no bit. I'm deadly serious. What about your 30-year-old son? He's not on the podcast today. You are. I got time, man. Cheryl, he's wearing the exact same outfit he was in when he was at the house. I have the same shirt on. Exact same outfit. She's quiet. She's literally stunned beyond words.

That is a sign. That's amazing. You can't make it up. Okay. Too good. Well, look, I'll say this much. I am excited to get back to Unstable. And here's why. I think in the second season, you will realize that there's so much more to be made fun of about you. But it's not a one joke show.

It's not, but in many ways to me, it is. Because it's cathartic for me. And so I get to go in and just pretend. Even when I'm not, and it's very little of my scenes without you actually have anything to do with you. But not up here. Because I get to just remember that in many ways I sold a show that is just about humiliating you. I don't think it's about that. Well, yeah.

I don't. I don't think it's about that. I think it's your mother. Hang on. She wants to be on the podcast again. Hi. Ask her if she wants to take over. How could you guys hang up on me? We didn't hang up. You hung up on us. No, I could never hang up on you. Did we figure out if there's a leak in the house, by the way, really quickly? Oh, that's putting it mildly. Really? Yeah, we're going to have to move out. You're not kidding, are you?

Nope. I knew it. I told you. Am I on the right now? You're on the podcast right now. I am? Yeah. Why are we boring people with stuff about leaks? This is like so a day in our life. I know. Just the fun, quirky stuff. I'm just so interested in John Owen. And the fact is, if it takes being on a podcast to be able to hear anything about him, I'm okay. Fine.

Well, that's what I'm saying. This is this is he's here. He's a captive audience and we can ask him anything. All right. All right. That's not true. It's not redundant. Although like the redundant part about it is getting shot down every time you ask. Land the plane, Cheryl. Land the plane. Don't keep stealing. Going to slide. Stop it. Find your own one. OK, I'm landing the helicopter. So, Johnny, tell me, what is your ideal from starting from the spirit part inside out?

What? What is your ideal? What is your ideal? Ideal what? Breakfast cereal? Person? Movie role? What? What do you mean? I'm starting over. I don't want to get nailed here by you guys. What's your idea of somebody you would be interested in, like, you know, not just dating, but getting to know better? What are some of the personality traits you're looking for? Ooh.

I don't know. I don't want to. I hate this. This has now gotten too real. All right. All right. I'll call you later. Let me ask you this, Johnny. Do you want somebody who is funny? Of course he does. Of course. Who doesn't? This is not your interview. This is what he does. Of course he wants somebody who's funny.

Well, some people don't want people funny. What? Some people don't want people funny. Some people don't want people funny. They want people serious. Some people don't want people funny. Do you want somebody that is looking for a family? All right. Bye. Okay. We're done now. All right. I love you, but that's the end of it. Well, I hope you had fun. I can't wait to call my publicist after this and say, make sure they cut that one part. There's no cutting. No.

There's no cutting. And this is what it is. What's the most painful... Tell me. I know what I want to ask you. I want to ask you about... Tell everybody about the time the genius Fred Armisen, who's on our show and who we love dearly. I think Fred Armisen, he's for sure one of the funniest people I've ever worked with, for sure. He's one of the funniest people in the world. How hard it was for you to keep a straight face working with Fred? Well...

That was dream casting for us. And we had written that role. We were literally in the writer's room using his voice as the sort of model for that character. So when we got him, I was giddy. And I think that's one of the rare times in my life where you manage your expectations, but they're still sky high and they're met and exceeded. He's so nice and so funny.

And he has this thing I imagine must be from Saturday Night Live or whatever where he picks on the person who will break and that is me. Yes. And so there were many times where I had a tough time keeping a straight face but there was one scene in particular in the seventh episode where look at that memory like an elephant where it's his exit and it's not scripted and he just casually during one of our takes grabbed a plate of food that was in front of me

And sort of like jingled it in my face and walked out. And I thought that was so funny. And then I thought, okay, great. It was a funny bit. We're done with that. And then he got bigger and bigger with it every time. And I have a recording of it on my phone. But you can hear our director, Mark Buckland.

They call cut, not because I'm laughing. And he goes, Johnny, Johnny, please. We just need one take. Just give us one where you can keep it together. So I'm still learning. You do a very good job of not breaking. That's another takeaway I had. I was surprised by that. Because I know how funny you think Fred is. Oh, because I remember the last time I...

did a scene where I literally couldn't keep it together. It was with Dana Carvey. And Dana's also one of the funniest people who ever lived. For sure. And it's a scene in Wayne's world where I surprised Garth in his basement and Dana is building a robotic hand for no reason. And he was just, and they both get that glint in it. The common theme is they both get a glint in their eye. Blood in the water. Where they smell blood in the water. Yeah.

And they are not going to rest until they've broken you. Yeah. Yeah. Fred definitely did that to me. There was that scene where you... Second episode where you guys are... Where you meet his character and he's going... What's he saying? He goes... Let's talk about what's going on here. Let's talk about what's going on. And then he was doing this gigantic... For people who can't see, doing like a huge loop with his hand and then pointing it at my chest and going, let's talk about what's going on in here. And then...

I had a line after that and I could never get to it because he would start like Scooby-Doo inspecting my face. I'm like, or how about tell me, tell me, tell me. That makes me laugh every time. I don't know why. Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me. The like little mannerisms and struggling to get a phrase out. Tell me, tell me, tell me. Well, I think he, you know, people always talk about what's funny and what makes somebody funny and it can be different for different people, but there's a,

that are of people who are just naturally, they can look at you and you can laugh. They just have something about them. An energy. An energy for sure. And you definitely don't have that. I don't. I'm what they would call a...

Character actor. No, it's like in comedy. I can't believe you let that slide. No, I consider that a compliment. Really? Okay. Oh, yes. Character actor trapped in a leading man's body. Oh, that's how you sell it to yourself. Got it. I think it's, I think that. I'm looking at your body right now and it doesn't look like a leading man's body. I know. That's why I'm going on the bone broth. Man, do something.

Don't you worry. When the bell rings, I'll be ready. Get in the gym. Don't you worry. I don't know what else to say. Well, let's see what you look like when you're my age. Probably like you, unfortunately. Well, let's hope you have your hair. That's right. That's right. What else? Tell me this. What's it like in L.A. being a single, you know, actor doing his thing in L.A.? What's that like for you?

Well, first of all, I don't consider myself a single actor. That's just, I'll never be that. I'm a writer, first and foremost. Good. Put some respect on my name. Good, I like that. Not that I have anything against actors. I grew up with one as a parent and I'm friends with many. But for me, I started writing, so that's...

you know, it's writer slash actor, not the other way around. Yep. And right now is a great time to, to, you know, I'm just, I have a lot of time to write and to be creative. It's, you know, painting this year has been incredible. And like we talked about, it's, that's the new outlet for me since I'm on, I was on strike for the majority of this year. And other than that, you know, I got my first home this year and, and, and, um,

I've been, what do they call it? Cocooning. And nesting. I hate those words. But it's the truth. And just kind of, here's the young LA man in me. I've just been posted up, man. Posted up. You've been posted up. You've been posted up. I've been posted. And that's really all I got for you. Why don't you give me like one hard-hitting question. I was just about to do that. Let's hear it. So, um...

You're very open about being in recovery, as am I. How many years you got now? Five and change. I had five on April 1st. Congratulations. Thank you. What's the biggest difference in your life that being sober and in recovery has given you? Biggest difference. It's hard to pick. Or gift. Let's put it that way. Sure. It's hard to pick the biggest. There's so many. My life is completely different. Maybe, you know,

being present on a day-to-day basis, liking myself, being able to spend time alone with myself. I would just say there's a curiosity and optimism towards life that I carry with me now that I was just, I had no access to before I was sober and a relationship to God. And, you know, I was always a sensitive person

sort of sympathetic, empathetic person, but I've found in recovery that I can be present for others, which is like, you know, that's the purpose of life. So, yeah, I would just say having, you know, a positive purpose is the biggest difference. And what's it for you? I mean, it's 30 something years. 33 for me. And what would you say? I mean, it's got to be hard to go back. Oh, yeah. To remember that, but if you could. Yeah.

I always say just it's a blanket statement and there's a lot of subheadings underneath it. But just the difference is in sobriety, I'm able to show up for life, you know, to show up for... Okay, now go off script. What's the most, what's like a more vulnerable way of saying that, do you think? I'm curious. I'm not even trying to press you. To be a partner to people and to...

It's in many ways the same thing you're saying, to be present and keep my side of the street in a place where I can have the relationships and friendships and work that I aspire to have and to be equal to the people in my life. Sure. Does that make sense? That makes sense. I think just holistically, I would...

I like this because this is a blend of me getting to pick at you, but also this is somewhat, this is grounded and real. It's like, I would challenge you to go off script more with the way you talk. Because you're so, I'm trying not to swear. You're so, you know, you've been famous for 40 years and you've been in public eye and you're very human and behind the scenes. But I think like, you know, when you asked me,

In all seriousness, do I listen to the podcast? Like it's a great podcast. I'm sure it's great That's the thing. I don't need to listen to to know it's great. But if there were moments Where I could hear you being You know You're you're most vulnerable Those would be those would be the moments that would keep me I would be like oh as your son I want to hear that and i've i've heard them in pockets in fairness. I'm not a good Sort of judge for this because I would have to listen to them to go. Yeah, you do it. But um

at least just in the sort of minor example of what just occurred, I get, you know, like, what was your first answer? It's like, it's easier. Some sort of like very, you know, manicured, but well said statement. And then I press you on it and then it's like, oh, let me think about that. And then that's when you actually say something. You sound like one of the guys in my men's group. Look, man, I'm just so evolved.

They always say the same thing. That's the rap on me. That's for sure. Like, that's the rap. Yeah, go deeper. It's not that it's not deep. It's just my way of communicating. Your way of communicating, for sure. Again, and I think that that's fair. I think it's not that what you're saying is BS or anything. It's just the way you're communicating it. Sometimes, you know, I think people close to you might go like, I've heard you say that before in that exact way.

phraseology. So give me something more real for this moment. You schmuck. I mean, I understand. I get that. I do. I do get that. Look, it's hard being a character actor in a leading man's body. I'm sure. It's not for everyone. I can't imagine. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It's not for everyone. Trapped. So where do you see yourself...

In 30 minutes. This is a question that is such a hack question that I've never asked it in the history of doing this podcast. And that's how brutal this one is for you. You gotta go to the grab bag. No, but I'm asking it of you because I really do want to know what are the goals for your life? Where do you see yourself in the next five years? We have to remember that I'm answering this

To my dad on a very public podcast. Well, I'm doing it. So with that. Do you think I would ever ask you that? At home? No. I wouldn't. Would I? Son, what are your goals? I'm not that guy. I'm not that guy. By the way, I probably should be. I don't know. I think there's a lot of dads that do that. I mean, I know there are.

I know there are. For sure there are. Son, tell me your goal. Could be us. Could be us. No, I said couldn't be. It's not us. My goals, where do I want to be? I want to have learned from my mistakes and be, you know, I'll say this much. I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to make a living doing what I do.

I love it so much. I really don't. I'm excited for Monday. On Saturday and Sunday, I'm looking forward to the week. And even when I'm not on an official job, if that means just like Monday through Friday is some goal I've set for myself writing-wise or exciting meetings with new people and all that creativity that comes around that, I feel blessed that that is my career. And so in many ways,

My goal is to maintain that and stay and keep that attitude and not ever get jaded or anything. You know, there's the more common tangible ones. I want to have a family. I want to have kids and I want to be able to support them. And then there's the fun ones. I want to...

You know, I'd like to live in a different country at some point, which is maybe shocking for you to hear. I don't like to go anywhere. Yeah. Wait, wait, wait. What? I know. But that's like 30s. That's like late 30s. I want to like uproot for like a year. I know. I can't get you to go anywhere. Yeah. Well, that's with you. That's true. The art is a new development. I'd like to have no timetable on this, but I'd like to be able to display that at some point and show people the stuff I've made. Yeah.

I'd like to have seven dogs. Seven dogs? I don't know. A lot of dogs. I want to run a dog farm at some point. Yeah, I hear you. Yep. We have five dogs already. Five of them. You basically have a dog farm. Yeah. And I want to drive a Range Rover. A Range Rover? G-Wagon. Fine. Whatever. A G-Wagon? Yeah. I want to be cool. I can't wait to be one of the cool kids. Keep working on it. I want it so bad. Keep working on it. Keep wearing those Persol's.

Yeah, this is all an act. Your mom's decided you started... Because we...

There was a phase when you were young where you were mini Justin Bieber, although you always denied it. But you were. There's no getting around it. No shame in that. Yeah, you know. JB was the man. Yeah, but you were like, no, I don't. But you had the swirl. Remember when he had like the Ted Koppel haircut? Hold on, hold on. Watch this. From Nightline. You know, he had that bad comb over bang thing he was doing. Yeah, that. For those of you that can't see, I'm flicking my hair. It's just a really horrendous thing.

Bang like like dennis the menace hairdo almost. Okay, get to your point Okay, so you were that for a long time. Yeah, and then you you then you started dressing like patrick schwarzenegger for a long time Just stray shots at pat. No, I love pat and me by the way, whatever he and I are used to taking collateral damage So you just like patrick schwarzenegger and now your mom's like, you know, he's dressing like that artist devon whoa

This is all making me, I'm insulted. It's all as if all my style is so derivative. Maybe I'm just doing my own thing. But my favorite, she goes, don't you notice the way he's wearing his hats? Oh, God. Not the hats. Yeah, it's the way you're wearing your hat. But don't you know the great

The great conundrum of life that we all experience is like, when will mom not have a problem with what I'm doing? Never. Ever. That's what they do. I could take the hats off and then it would be something else. That is true. You know, let that be the title of this podcast. But it is an interesting... You're wearing a hat right now, chief. But I'm not wearing it the way you're wearing it. Yeah. First of all, what I do like is you've got the Robert Redford move.

of the hair below the brim on your forehead. I frequently do that. I can't, I can't pull that off. It makes me feel uncomfortable. And Robert Redford, he did it with, with cowboy hats. Yeah. Like in Butch and Sundance. He was, he looked great. So sick. Yeah. He was the man. So sick. Wait, hang on. I could try it. Try it. It's not really a visual medium. Should I try it? No, look. Yeah. Yeah. I'm getting a little bit. My hair's long enough to do it too. Hang on. Yeah. And gray enough. Oh my God.

That is profoundly disturbing to me. Is that? That's the worst thing I've ever seen. It's so bad that it's making me want to now not ever wear my hair like that. You look like Matthew kind of. Oh, really? You really actually do. I almost want to take a photo of you. Take a photo. You look like Matthew. I've never turned down the chance for anybody to take a photo of me. That's for sure true. What? Look at me. What? That's a close friend story right there. I mean, I don't know.

By the way, I roasted, I flamed you. I don't think you know about, do you know what close friends is on Instagram stories? Yes. It's your, it's, it's a stories for close friends. I mean, it is as one would think it would be. Sounds like you just piece that together, but I, I put this photo up and I can send it so that they can show it, but I'll describe it for those listening. It was when we were looking at,

your new construction site and you chose to wear, what are these bad boys? Solomon's, these things. Yeah. These shoes. They are all time dad shoes. Not cool. Because dad shoes can be cool now. But those are hiking shoes. That's all they are. And they are terrible. What are you supposed to wear if you're going hiking? We weren't hiking. We weren't even close to hiking.

You look old, man. You know who wears those shoes? Who? Chad Lowe. But that's my guy. Oh, okay. So it's okay for Chad Lowe to wear them. That's my guy. You can speak very well on Chad Lowe. I'm not speaking. I love my brother, but he wears them and you don't say anything. I wear them in their old man dad shoes. The difference is Chad has, as the kids like to say, Chad has drip. You have no drip. I have no drip? None. None.

Is that like, is that like Riz? What about my Riz? You have no Riz either, I would say. I don't know. No drip, no Riz. No drip. Well, there's our title. No drip, no Riz. Yeah, he's so happy we just got a title, guys. Let's lock it up. I mean. No drip, no Riz. You don't have either, is the truth. And you did maybe at one point. I see. I think I disagree and I think there are people in America. You're right. You never had drip or Riz. That might disagree. I can't wait for the comments.

All of my friends' moms. Oh boy. It's getting ugly. That's always what it is. I tell them this is, I like how I'm not even talking to you anymore. I'm just talking into the podcast. I'm like, this is how it always is with him. It's like, you know, we're walking on the street and some young, young man or young, you know, cute girl will come up and, oh my God. And I can see you kind of get excited. It's like, my mom's in this store over here. Can you just wait two seconds? She's your biggest fan.

That's always what it is. And then you like to say this thing. Well, every generation reads The Outsiders and watches The Outsiders. And so I always have a new generation of people that are figuring out who I am. That's what I was just about to say. I was actually just about to say that. These stories that you only tell your friends. I've heard them all. Because you're my friend. That's sweet. I like that. And that's what it is. I mean...

All parents tell the same stories to their kids. I know. My dad does the same thing. I don't know if he knows he's telling the same stories. Oh, shots fired for grandpa. Grandpa's the man. Oh, grandpa. I love grandpa. But don't worry. Grandpa, not only does he not know that I have a podcast, he wouldn't know where to find it. Sure wouldn't. I could tell my dad 5,000 times.

Hey, what are you doing? Hey, Robbie. Hey, what are you doing now? What are you up to these days? Well, I just did a bunch of podcast. Oh, you're doing a podcast. Oh, that's exciting. Yeah, that's good. Oh, that's great. It's so good. I'd like to know about that. Who is he, Ronald Reagan? Yeah. Well, there you go again. Kind of, yeah, a little Ronald Reagan. With your podcast. Even your podcast. Anything you want to ask me before we wrap up? Well, if it means it's...

moving the wrap up closer closer than i'm into it um was mom a better guest than me she was great your mother was great i mean honestly a she was great i knew she would be great your mom's a born reality tv star she would have been a jive norm she freezes up no she doesn't there's no cameras with cameras around she freezes up oh interesting

I don't know, man. Your mom would have been a huge reality star. And she's been asked many times to do it. That was very like Trumpian of you. She would have been an amazing reality star. She's been asked many times.

She doesn't want to do it. She says there's too many likes. A lot of people like her and a lot of people don't. She says. It's really crazy. And it's what's crazy. It's what's crazy. She made a lot of money. You have that, you have a little like Trump speak in you in that, I'm like, what is he saying? You know what he's saying? What? What do I do? Well, you'll do, you know, you'll go, tell me, you know, tell me about the, the,

what it's like living in LA as a young, single something. And then you'll go, well, and, and, and, and what I want to know is, um, and what does that mean for you? And all of a sudden we're six questions in and where, and where about, where do you see yourself and what, what is the time? What's the timeline for you? And I'm like, well, what fucking question are we asking? See, I just think that's an in-depth question. I just think it's bad. Like your hair. I know you're right. I had to get this hair thing out of my face. Get it off.

Please. There you go. Well. Okay. Yep. Think of, rack your brain. This is it. This is why I usually. I'll never be back. This is why I have notes usually. Well. Notes would help me. Don't squander this. Notes would help me. You caught me in a rare moment. Explain, just explain to me and then we will end with this. Explain to me your obsession with John Stamos. You explain it.

Because I have a lot of questions. Why are you forever... I don't know what you're talking about, first of all. You don't know what I'm talking about. You took our family Christmas card this year and replaced my face of our family by our Christmas tree with John Stamos' face. From what I can tell from that photo that I posted, that is our family Christmas card. I don't know what you're talking about. So you're going to take this bit into Andy Kaufman reality, right?

I don't know what you're talking about. Level. All I know is that Stamos has an incredible body of work and I respect him. I'm not, I don't sleep on Johnny Stamos.

And then he's a good dad. Yeah. I don't understand why I'm always Johnny Stamos to you. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't see... Is it that thing like when I was a kid, when I saw like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or Jimmy Conn and The Godfather and they reminded me of my father? It's not that deep. I just don't know what you're talking about. Stamos' face, your face, it is what it is. It's the same thing? And I'll tell you one thing. What's that? Stamos might have drip and he might have Riz. I'm going to work on my drip and Riz.

It's been real. I look forward to season two with you. Do you? I do. I'm kidding. I do too. It's going to be so much fun. What is the cough button? It makes you cough. Did you hear me cough? Whoa. You're living the high life in here, man. I did. This is a professional podcast studio. How did they let you get away with all this? I told you. Well, if you ever listen to this podcast, you know it's actually really good.

Maybe another time. Maybe another time. I'll listen to this one. I'm kidding. You're good. I like it. I like it. I'll listen to this one. Anything else we should cover? You're feeling happy? Get them out of here. Johnny Lowe, thank you for coming on the podcast. Let this be the first one you listen to of many. Thank you, sir. I'll see you... Tonight at dinner. No. No.

I'll see you later. Where are we going for lunch? I'm down. I'm seeking my stomach. I'm so hungry. Starving. Well. Starving. We sure earned it. All right. Let's go to lunch. Well, he kind of behaved himself. I think he kind of, it could have been so much worse, really. But I got to say, I love having this guy around. It's just the best. It's such a dream to be able to work with your kids. I mean, I know some of you out there get to work with your kids and have family businesses and you know what it's like. It's really, really, really extraordinary. Thank you.

All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel.

All right. You know what time it is. It's time to check the lowdown line. Hello. You've reached literally in our lowdown line where you can get the lowdown on all things about me, Rob Lowe. 323-570-4551.

So have at it. Here's the beep. Hey, Rob. This is Joey from New York. I was wondering, with The Outsiders being adapted as a musical for Broadway, is there another film or television show that you've been a part of that you think should also get a Broadway musical adaptation? I'd love to see Wayne's World. Thanks. Well, I do think Lin-Manuel Miranda would make a great version of a musical of the West Wing.

I know that he was inspired by the West Wing. And in fact, during his last performance in Hamilton, the orchestra, as a surprise for him, his last curtain call, played the West Wing theme. So for sure. And by the way, they should do that.

That's a legit show idea they should do. I'll be interested to see, by the way, how this Outsiders thing goes. I've heard it's great and I've heard it's awful. No middle ground. So it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. But in the meantime, musical West Wing, I think that sounds good. Thank you for listening. I really appreciate it. And please don't forget to download all of our episodes and subscribe to

And we will have many more coming next time on Literally. You've been listening to Literally with Rob Lowe, produced by me, Nick Liao. With help from associate producer Sarah Begar. Research by Alyssa Grahl. Editing by Jerron Ferguson. Engineering and mixing by Rich Garcia. Our executive producers are Rob Lowe for Low Profile, Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross, and myself for Team Coco, and Colin Anderson for Stitcher. Booking by Deirdre Dodd. Music by Devin Bryant.

Special thanks to Hidden City Studios. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time on Literally with Rob Lowe.

All set for your flight? Yep. I've got everything I need. Eye mask, neck pillow, T-Mobile, headphones. Wait, T-Mobile? You bet. Free in-flight Wi-Fi. 15% off all Hilton brands. I'll never go anywhere without T-Mobile. Same goes for my water bottle, chewing gum, nail clippers. Okay, I'm going to leave you to it. Find out how you can experience travel better at T-Mobile.com slash travel. ♪

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