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November 27, 2002
Lowe leaves 'West Wing' for whatever's next
By Dave Mason
Ventura County Star
Rob Lowe is leaving "The West Wing" tonight without knowing if his character will get elected to Congress.
"I'll probably find out the same time as viewers do," the Santa Barbara star said, laughing during a phone interview with The Star on Monday. Lowe's final episode airs at 9 p.m. on NBC, Channel 4.
Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, is the assistant director of communications at the White House, but in recent episodes, he became the replacement for a congressional candidate who died. Sam is now in a special election as a Democrat in Orange County.
Lowe announced last summer he would leave "The West Wing."
"There just wasn't any more room for my character," Lowe said. "It became clear last season that it was time for me to move on.
"I'm just in an exciting time of finding out what I want to do next," Lowe said.
It's not, Lowe said, that he's getting tired of playing Sam.
But Lowe said he felt his character had become less crucial to the show and had served his usefulness.
The congressional race arc for Sam has all the scent of a spinoff, but Lowe said he hasn't been involved in any discussions on that. "That would be up to (creator and executive producer) Aaron Sorkin.
"I feel the character could go on and do his own show," Lowe said. "I could play Sam for another 10 years."
Lowe's new projects include "The Christmas Shoes," a CBS movie premiering at 9 p.m. Sunday on Channel 2. In the well-acted drama, Lowe plays a lawyer who puts his work ahead of his family but learns about the true nature of giving from a young boy whose mother is dying. (See the review in Sunday's TV Star.)
"I felt when I read it, I could bring a humanity and sympathy to a character who's unsympathetic," Lowe said. "It's a universal theme. We all want to be better parents than we are.
"The story really moved me; it was a really good cry," Lowe said. "I'm a manly man, but I'm not above a good cry."
Lowe is spending his Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family in Santa Barbara, where he has lived for eight years. "I don't like to travel much," he said.
On Thursday, he's organizing a Turkey Bowl football game for his children and others in the neighborhood.
"I'm going to need a workout before all that eating," he said.
Posted by MorganG at November 27, 2002 06:02 PM