While Rob Lowe and his son, John Owen, have pursued passion projects together in the entertainment industry, his son, Matthew, starred in one of his father’s most famous shows.
However, he had no interest in acting, and in fact felt “irritable and uncomfortable” while filming scenes for The West Wing with his father.
Matthew admitted he’s still a big fan of the political drama when he joined his father’s SiriusXM podcast. “Literally with Rob Lowe.”
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Rob Lowe’s son Matthew recalled working with his father on ‘The West Wing’. (Getty Images)
Lowe appeared on the show for the first four seasons. “The White House” He played the role of White House Deputy Director of Communications Sam Seaborn. Seaborn left the show in 2002 and left “The West Wing” to run for Congress in California.
“Actually, I think I’m the biggest fan in the family of ‘The West Wing.’ I’ve watched it so many times, so many seasons. I’m on it,” Matthew said.
“You’re in it too. Yeah, you’re in it too,” Rob said, to which Matthew added, “That’s my claim to fame. It’s the famous episode, right?”
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“Matthew, you’re not just on The West Wing. I have no doubt that any fan of The West Wing will tell you this is many people’s favorite episode, in the top five of all time,” Rob assured his son. “The episode is called ‘Noel,’ and it’s the episode that won Richard Schiff his well-deserved Emmy. It’s a Christmas episode, and in one of the rooms in The West Wing there are people singing carols.”
Matthew was just a child when he appeared in the Christmas episode of The West Wing. (Getty Images)
“Don’t give too much away, I want to see if the viewers can tell which one is me,” Matthew joked, before asking how old his dad was when they filmed the episode.
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“Seven years old?” Rob guessed, to which Matthew chimed in: “I was really young. I remember that day vividly.”
He added: “I remember being really annoyed and uncomfortable because I had to wear dress shoes. They were really tight and uncomfortable. That’s my only fragmented memory of that day. And then playing chess with Martin Sheen.”
“That’s a really great memory, I got to play chess with President Bartlett,” Rob said.
Lowe starred as White House deputy communications director Sam Seaborn. (Getty Images)
Last year, the Brat Pack member admitted he stepped down from the role of a lifetime because he felt “underestimated” while working on the series.
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“This happens all the time when I talk to actors who complain about the relationships on the show,” she explained during an appearance on Stitcher Studios’ Podcrushed. “It happens in any workplace, where you’re being attacked, you’re being expected to fail, you’re not being appreciated, whatever the situation, when I share my story, people say, ‘I’m never sharing my story again.'”
He added: “There are some stories that are spine-chilling and I’ve written about them. I included some of them in the book but I deliberately left the other half out because I didn’t want to do that to the people involved because it would have tarnished their reputations.”
“The West Wing” stars Martin Sheen as President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet and Rob Lowe as his deputy communications director. (David Rose/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images, via Getty Images)
At the time, Lowe’s departure was touted as being amicable and due to his character’s storyline failing to deliver.
“So it wasn’t a good experience,” he said on the podcast. “I tried to make it work, but then my kids got their first girlfriends and friends and were at an age where they were in an abusive relationship and they were accepting of it. She’s popular and everyone likes her and she’s beautiful. She must be great. That’s everything people tell me about making ‘The West Wing.’
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“It’s super popular and it’s super great and I’m sure it’s amazing, but I know what it’s like. If I can’t walk away from it, how am I going to empower my kids to walk away from it?”
Lowe also Reflected About the moment he left and how it affected him.
Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and Allison Janney worked with Lowe on the award-winning series. (Photo by Steve Shapiro/NBCU Photo Bank)
“I broke up with the most popular girl in school, but at the same time I knew it was a very unhealthy relationship, and it was the best thing I ever did,” he said.
Despite feeling “underestimated” on set, Lowe appeared in two episodes of the final season and also appeared in an HBO special in 2020.
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Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Oberhaltz contributed to this report.
