I always thought of him as kind of a bimbo...the sex tape he made here in Atlanta with that teenage girl has probably colored my opinion of him a bit. I'll have to check out THE STAND--I loved the book.
But when I think of Lowe, I just think of that dreadful St. Elmo speech, and the stuff he's done for TNT, like Salem's Lot, which had very flat readings (watching him in dailies was downright painful.) He may be one of those actors who does best with a strong director. Didn't he quit West Wing because his character was supposed to be the star but was overshadowed by the more talented cast? (I didn't keep up with that show..)
But I agree, he is very handsome and definitely matinee idol material. And I did enjoy his duet with Snow Wihte!
Frankly, I used to detest Lowe. In his "pretty" days he would also flash a smile in lieu of drawing on any innate acting talent.
But when he did "The Stand", I saw a different Rob Lowe. I think most folks who follow him would point to that performance (Nick Andros) as a turning point that resurrected a flagging career.
In "The West Wing", I don't think it was so much a "star turn" he was expecting as he expected the writers to develop his character as the seasons passed and they went in different direction. They were fighting sagging ratings as well, and played up other characters. This, in Lowe's eyes, was not what he'd been promised would happen. I always understood the departure to be on friendly terms.
Rob Morrow held out for higher salary on "Northern Exposure" at a time when the show was enjoying good ratings. He alienated most of the other cast members who also had contracts but didn't think they were more special than anyone else. I realize his character was the anchor of the plot, but "he" wasn't more interesting or important than the other characters, IMO. When he walked away from the show (again, with the show doing well, and only after four seasons, IIRC) he did so to capitalize on better career opportunities (i.e., "The Quiz Show"). The movie was critically well received, but did nothing at the box office and his career fizzled just as quickly as did David Caruso's when he left "NYPD Blue" after only one season.
"Northern Exposure," sadly, did not survive his departure the way "NYPD Blue" survived Caruso's. The character was replaced "badly", IMO. The writers, without a Joel, had to tap dance, and found they had two left feet. There was no one left for Janine Turner to have sarcastic badinage with and that was a charm of the show...seeing her put the little pisher in his place each week.
That remake of "Salem's Lot" WAS a turkey. I don't think any actor could have saved it.
