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Lowe: I Was Slighted on 'West Wing'

Newsday

Rob Lowe says he quit "The West Wing" because he felt slighted by the show's creator, Aaron Sorkin, over the size of his role and the money he was making.

Lowe was irked when his part as a White House staffer was cut back and he continued to take home $70,000 an episode, while co-star Martin Sheen, playing the president, got a raise to $300,000 a show.

"Why didn't (Sorkin) know how much I loved him, how much I loved that show?" the actor told TV Guide for its Oct. 11 issue. "Why didn't he love me like I loved him? It's weird, considering it's another man, but that's as close as I can put it."

Lowe also says the show would not accommodate requests for time off. He recalls a meeting at which producers upbraided him for an attendance record that showed he'd been late a total of 17 hours.

"I was spied on. No other cast member had a meeting like that," Lowe said.

Though his decision to leave was seen as a bad career move, Lowe landed on his feet as star and executive producer of "The Lyon's Den," a new legal drama on NBC.