8 Questions With … Rob Lowe

1. What has been your strangest fan encounter?

Rob Lowe: I’ve been really lucky: My fan encounters, to a person, have been wonderful. The one that pops to mind was my encounter with some fans, plural, when they banded together to create the Save Sam Seaborn Society [named after Lowe’s character on The West Wing]. They paid to take out full-page ads in newspapers to get Warner Bros. Television and NBC to write more for me, then they deluged the studio with thousands and thousands of pennies, because Sam fought to save the penny.

2. You’re at a magazine rack and can pick three magazines. What are they?

That’s pretty easy. That’s gonna be TIME, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.

3. What’s your favorite sports team?

Historically, it’s been the Los Angeles Lakers — although recently, my sons and I have been into the Indianapolis Colts.

4. When was the last time you were starstruck?

Whenever I see Paul Newman. I was at a small dinner with him a few years ago, and I just looked at him and was reminded of why I became an actor. I asked him every question I could about every great movie he’d ever been in. I think I drove him insane, but I had to know.

5. If your TV only carried three shows, which three would you want?

I would say Wonder Showzen, Rescue Me and anything on Discovery Channel.

6. When was the last time you felt like crying?

With the proviso that it’s crying for joy, that would be at my kid’s recent parent-teacher conference. It went well.

7. What’s your favorite condiment?

I’m going to say, sadly, salt.

8. Do you keep in touch with your “St. Elmo’s Fire” costars?

I don’t, but whenever I see anybody from that movie, it’s always a college reunion. I’ve been following Emilio [Estevez]’s journey with his movie Bobby, and I’m thrilled for him. Demi [Moore] I see around from time to time, and that’s always great. She’s someone I’ve literally known for 20-plus years.

Lowe stars in the original movie A Perfect Day, a new drama premiering Dec. 18 on TNT.