The Surprising Actor Rob Lowe Wants To Play Him In A Movie Makes Sense

Despite acting alongside his real-life son on "Unstable," which Netflix viewers agree is worth a watch, Rob Lowe has a different actor in mind for portraying him in a potential biopic. To be fair, John Owen Lowe took himself out of consideration when the two actors interviewed one another for Entertainment Tonight, with the elder Lowe deciding on a "High School Musical" star he'd want to portray him if he ever gets a biopic. 

He stated, "Zac Efron. 'Iron Claw?' Amazing. He's amazing." Looper's review of "The Iron Claw" touted it as an emotional body slam, with Efron really leading the charge in a heart-wrenching performance. There's little doubt Efron would be able to embody the more emotional beats of Rob Lowe's true story, even if Lowe's son is skeptical he'd take the role to begin with. "It would be great casting," John Owen Lowe said. "I'm just saying I don't think Zac Efron would do it."

Efron does have some experience portraying younger versions of longtime Hollywood stars. For example, Efron had to play a younger version of Matthew Perry for 2009's "17 Again," so he could probably master Rob Lowe's mannerisms too. 

Casting Zac Efron to play Rob Lowe in some future project would actually make a great deal of sense. They both had their starts in Hollywood when they were both fairly young. Efron was just a teenager when he started landing parts in the likes of "Firefly" and "ER," and Lowe attained massive success when he starred in the coming-of-age film "The Outsiders." There are a lot of commonalities there that could influence one's performance, and it would seem Lowe might have had his eye on Efron for a while before deciding he should be the one to play him in a biopic.

In a 2013 interview on "Larry King Now," Lowe discussed becoming friends with Efron, and while he was hesitant to refer to himself as a "mentor," he admitted that he did see Efron as "a little bit of a mini-me." To his credit, Efron actually heard about how Lowe would want him to play him in a movie, and the younger actor sounds game. When the idea came up during an interview with People, Efron said, "He's the man. I know him so well personally and I cherish him, so I'm flattered and we'll see. I hope that comes together. It'd be really fun."

Efron may have been snubbed for his "Iron Claw" performance at the 2024 Oscars, but maybe he'd have better luck on the awards circuit playing Lowe in a project. All it would take is the right story to come together, but this could be a casting match made in heaven.