In the new issue of Parade, available today, actor Rob Lowe—of The Outsiders, The West Wing, Austin Powers, About Last Night, Parks and Recreation and The Grinder fame (among many, many more)—breaks out his surfboard (literally) and talks about feeling forever young at 54, the ups and downs of his long career and one far-out trip he still wants to take.
Here’s some:
Excitement Junkie. An avid surfer, he once paddled out to get a closer look at some great white sharks that were schooling near his Southern California home. He says he’s not “not living” if he doesn’t work up a sweat. “I’ve always been the first to accept a dare. It’s not always the best quality. You better manage it or it will get you in tons of trouble.”
New Challenges. Always pushing himself, Lowe took on the dual roles of actor and director for a gender-swapped remake of the 1956 crime-drama classic The Bad Seed (which will air Sept. 9 on Lifetime), about a mother’s (in this case, father’s) growing suspicions that her (his) darling little girl might be a heartless murderer. “I had a specific idea about how to make it creepy and wonderful for today,” Lowe says. “It’s unsettling and scary but also darkly funny.”
Out of Africa. The versatile actor changes gears for a Netflix movie, Christmas in the Wild, with Kristin Davis. Shooting in Africa “was a rugged, beautiful adventure of a lifetime,” he says. “It takes place in the world of elephant conservation, but it’s a love story.”
Forever Young. He thanks his genes—and especially his father—for his youthful looks. “When we would go to the county fair when I was young, my father would win me stuffed animals at the ‘guess your age’ booth. Nobody could ever guess how old he was because he looked so young.”
Bucket List. He’s still on the lookout for great roles. “I’m ready for my superhero moment!” he says, hinting that he’d love to play a fun comic-book character like the Green Hornet. And he has his sights set even higher than that. “I keep hoping Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk will put me in space. I want to live long enough to do that.”