Rob Lowe credits simple advice for son’s Hollywood breakthrough as Apple TV+ deal fuels a new era of self-made content

Rob Lowe says his simplest career advice kickstarted his son John Owen Lowe’s Hollywood path: "just be a content creator." In a Fox News Digital interview, the actor said the counsel came when John, now 29, told him he wanted to be an actor. Lowe noted that John has since sold a new show to Apple TV+, a milestone he called proof that today’s creators can build opportunities by making their own material.

"The best thing about where we are today is that there’s no excuse to not make your own stuff," Lowe said. The Parks and Recreation alum, who also hosts The Floor, added that he is living vicariously through both of his sons and that parenting never ends. John Owen Lowe’s Apple TV+ deal underscores the new path for aspiring actors who blend traditional acting with content-creating ventures.

Lowe also joked about John’s Stanford background, recalling the moment when John left campus to pursue acting. "Really? You couldn’t have told me that before I paid the tuition? You could be at Jamba Juice all day, walking up and down the street checking your phone. What the hell did you have to go to Stanford for?" he teased during the interview. The dialogue came as the pair collaborated on Netflix’s comedy Unstable, which ran for two seasons.

During the conversation, Lowe spoke about his sobriety journey and his friendship with Charlie Sheen, who wrote The Book of Sheen: A Memoir about addiction and recovery. Lowe said he’s been sober for 35 years and that he often helps others. "The very first intervention I was ever a part of, Charlie [Sheen] talks about in the documentary. I was six months sober myself, but it had already changed my life. And to watch Charlie now sober and having this moment, I’m so happy for him," Lowe said. "I’ve always adored him. He’s always been one of the funniest—to say that Charlie’s a character might be the understatement of the millennium—and he’s always been that way."

Lowe added that in today’s entertainment landscape there is no excuse not to make your own content, pointing to his work as host of The Floor as part of a broader shift toward creator-led projects in Hollywood. The Apple TV+ deal for John Owen Lowe, along with their Netflix collaboration, reflects the industry’s growing acceptance of family-led, self-produced material.