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July 07, 2002
Lowe and Behold
As the movie set bustles around him, heartthrob Rob Lowe talks about stardom, his children, and the real reason he jogs
By MARLA CRANSTON
canada.com
Hollywood heartthrob Rob Lowe jokes around on the set of a TV movie being shot in downtown Dartmouth.
Even with the pros, things don’t always go as planned on a movie set. Rob Lowe is fumbling with the door handle of the grey Mercedes he’s supposed to climb into on Portland Street, but it’s unexpectedly locked, so director Andy Wolk yells “Cut!”
There’s a lot to co-ordinate in this shot, with cars driving by on cue, snow to keep chilled, and a few dozen extras strolling along as Christmas shoppers, bundled up in winter coats and toques.
When Lowe finally gets into the car, it won’t start, so he pounds on the steering wheel, but that’s all part of the script.
“I play a guy who rediscovers, on Christmas Eve, through a chance meeting with a young boy, what’s important in life,” Lowe says on a quick break, while the crew sets up the next shot for the CBS holiday movie, The Christmas Shoes.
He steals a moment to light up a nice fat Cohiba, confessing Cuban cigars are one big bonus to working in Canada.
“We still have the Cuban embargo,” he says ruefully, obviously savouring his stogie.
Life’s little pleasures help keep things balanced when you’re travelling a lot, he says.
“Jogging and smoking. And you know what? I jog, so I can smoke. The yin and the yang.”
During his two weeks here, he’s checked out the city’s downtown cigar bars and, last weekend, toured around the province scouting possible locations for a coming-of-age script he wrote about some kids in a Pennsylvania suburb. He found our countryside “beautiful,” but thinks downtown Dartmouth might be perfect for the film.
Lowe scooted down to New York this week to host NBC’s Fourth of July special, with an all-star cast including Ray Charles, Harrison Ford, Mike Myers, Britney Spears and others.
“It was absolutely one of the highlights of my life,” he says. “I had a sense it was going to be emotional and memorable, but it surpassed anything I could have hoped. It was so moving, and people really seemed to like it.”
This weekend, he’s spending his free time here in Nova Scotia with his wife Sheryl and their sons Edward and John, who are nearly six and nine.
Having a family has affected his choices in film roles — in The Christmas Shoes, his character Robert Layton has a teenage daughter, played by Toronto’s Amber Marshall. And the chance meeting with tyke Nathan Andrews (Toronto’s Max Morrow) finds him helping the lad track down some special shoes for his dying mother. The film is based on a heartwarming story by the same name, which was inspired by a holiday song by Newsong that hit the Billboard charts last year.
“On a movie like this, where I’m predisposed to do it anyway because I like the script, the fact that I know my kids’ll like it and be able to watch it really sort of helps close the deal,” he says.
Sometimes his boys show signs of wanting to follow in his footsteps, and sometimes they don’t.
“I’m hoping for veterinarian and Supreme Court justice,” he says with a laugh.
Acting can be fairly tedious work, he says.
“It requires a particular type of concentration when the camera’s running, but a concentration to keep your focus during the amazingly long dull hours where you’re doing nothing but waiting, which is most of the day.”
He’s paying full attention to our chat, but also seems keenly aware of the bustling film crew on the periphery.
It’s the fourth co-production between L.A.’s Craig Anderson Productions and Halifax’s Magic Rock Productions.
“Is it time?” he asks, dashing back over to the Nieforth Furnishers storefront, the setting for Wilson’s Department Store in the fictional town of River City.
Today’s interior store shots take place at Mills Brothers on Spring Garden Road. At first, it seemed our interview might be over, but Lowe was happy to keep chatting when he returns, though I was a little tongue-tied by his blue, blue eyes. And he’s gracious when I sheepishly admit his picture hung in my high school locker back in his St. Elmo’s Fire days.
“Oh, I love it! Excellent! That’s so nice. I love to hear that.”
Quite a crowd of onlookers has gathered by this point, and shirtless men on nearby balconies swig beer as they watch — a strange sight with so much fake snow around.
The fame thing doesn’t seem to phase Lowe, who says it’s only a problem on days “when you’re just in a bad mood or you’re sick or you’re in a hurry.”
By the same token, he’s always astounded when people from China or other far-flung parts of the world know who he is. Recently, he was stopped by some people from Afghanistan who recognized him.
His hit TV show West Wing resumes shooting next week, as soon as Lowe departs Halifax.
He hints this could be a critical season for his character Sam Seaborne, the president’s deputy communications director.
“I think Sam fans should be at full attention. That’s all I could tell you right now,” he says.
Posted by MorganG at July 7, 2002 01:38 PM