Rob Lowe, starring in GM's Super Bowl ad, on Dr. Evil, the art of being timeless and That NFL Hat: 'So clean'
Some concepts can outlast time itself, such as comedy, and evil characters within a comedy and, it seems, Rob Lowe.
More than 100 million people will test that on Super Bowl Sunday, when the telegenic actor who hopscotches generations will rejoin one of his most beloved ensembles in an ad for General Motors.
Oh, Lowe, 57, isn't best remembered for portraying "No. 2," the aide-de-camp to Mike Myers' Dr. Evil in the 1997 comedy "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." And nowadays, the extremely online might regard him more as meme than comedic force, thanks to a choice of headwear made two NFL seasons ago (more on that later).
But Lowe, who rose to fame with the 1980s heartthrob Brat Pack, remains a staple of middle school curriculums thanks to "The Outsiders" and connected with whimsical Zoomers and millennials via "Parks and Rec," still has a soft spot for the Austin Powers trilogy.
Even if, at the outset, he was concerned the retro-sci fi-comedy-thriller might not connect.
"I knew how funny it was to me," Lowe recalled to Paste BN Sports. "I laughed at everything and thought it was absolutely genius. But comedy is super subjective. You never know if somebody else is going to laugh at things that make you laugh.
"People say fearlessness is the key to comedy. What that really means is the courage of your own convictions. You can't chase what you think is going be funny. You can only chase what's funny to you and have the confidence to let the chips fall where they may."
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They fell just fine: The original Austin Powers movie grossed $67 million at the box office, setting the stage for two sequels that raked in a combined $430 million. Two decades later, Dr. Evil, No. 2, Scotty (Seth Green) and Mindy Sterling (Frau) have been enlisted to sell electric vehicles for GM.
The idea is to get "everyone in" on saving the planet before destroying it, which Dr. Evil would prefer doing himself. Lowe is proud of the fact Myers and Co. can still concoct a bit that hits, given that comedy "historically is a snapshot of who we are at a given time and there are few comedies that stand the test of time and don't feel dated."
The same could be said for Lowe, who says it is "super humbling" hearing youngsters pepper him with quotes both from his persistently exuberant Chris Traeger of "Parks and Rec" along with the conflicted Sodapop Curtis from "The Outsiders."
"It's something I'm actually really proud of, and a function of the diversity of the projects and the roles," he says. "It's a wide net and that makes me really proud, really happy.
"Every year, there's a new crop of kids who get introduced to me through ("The Outsiders"). It's a real blessing."
Lowe says he is attending Super Bowl 56, and while he spent much of his childhood in Dayton, Ohio, he'll be pulling for the Rams, for the most part.
"As a fan, I'm gonna be happy either way," he says, "because I'm a Rams fan, they're my team, but Joe Burrow is my favorite player in the league by far. So, I'm hoping for a Rams win and Joe to pass for 500 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions."
Wait a minute.
Is this that Rob Lowe?
Yep, the same guy memed into submission two years ago at the NFC championship game, when Fox Sports cameras caught him in the crowd wearing a hat emblazoned, simply, with the NFL logo.
Social media erupted and has scarcely stopped ever since, Lowe suddenly the torchbearer of benign non-partisanship.
He heard you — almost immediately.
"My phone blew up like you couldn't believe," he says of that afternoon at Levi's Stadium. "I knew something had happened. It went all over the internet and continues to be a thing. It goes to show you just never know what's going to go viral. It makes me smile."
Lowe was on hand that day to promote "9-1-1: Lone Star," now in its third season on Fox. He says handlers offered him a choice of hats to wear for the promo shot.
"The only one I liked was the hat I wore," he says. "I’d never seen anyone else wearing that hat but a referee. I didn't want to wear, like 'NFC Championship Hat.' I just didn't love the design.
"This one is so clean and crisp and cool."
Timeless, you might say. Kind of like Dr. Evil and his No. 2.