Rob Lowe compared the cast of The Outsiders, which included Tom Cruise, to his “frat brothers” in a new interview.
The 60-year-old actor, speaking with People about the film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which she starred alongside Cruise, 62, Matt Dillon, 60, Emilio Estevez, 62, Ralph Macchio, 62, C. Thomas Howell, 57, and the late Patrick Swayze, who died at age 57 in 2009.
“Those (co-stars) are my guys, my buddies, my fraternity brothers,” the Charlottesville, Virginia-born star said, noting that he “turned 18 on the set in Tulsa” on the set of the film.
“We were all extremely serious and super competitive,” Lowe said of the core group of actors, who would rise to varying levels of stardom in the years following the film’s release.
The Emmy-nominated actor, who played the role of Sodapop Curtis in the film, said Cruise, who played Steve Randle, showed flashes of brilliance early in his career.
Rob Lowe, 60, compared the cast of The Outsiders, which included Tom Cruise, to his “frat brothers” in a new interview. Pictured in April 2023 in New York
(L-R) Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Lowe and Tom Cruise on the set of The Outsiders
“The fact that Tom was Tom took the project to another level,” Lowe said. “He was born with that kind of commitment and he was an inspiration.”
He added: “In Tom, you can see the intensity in The Outsiders which shows him hanging out of a plane in his late 50s. The embryos of what we become are (evident) if you look closely enough.”
Lowe said his interpretation of the film, which was adapted from the 1967 novel by author S.E. Hinton, has evolved over time.
“It’s funny, the movie meant different things to me over the years,” Lowe said. “While it was happening, it felt perfectly natural to me, (and) that was my fraternity.”
He continued: “And now, with time, and with so many generations growing up and accepting the film, and it being a part of their lives… being a part of it is really special.”
Lowe said he received strong support from Estevez, a childhood friend with whom he grew up in Malibu, California.
“Emilio helped me understand where this was all going,” Lowe said of his fellow Brat Pack member, whose films include The Breakfast Club, Stakeout and The Mighty Ducks.
He added: “It was nice to have a best friend going through the ups and downs of being a young actor in Hollywood.”
Lowe said making the film with the young cast and acclaimed filmmaker “was really special” and marked “an incredible moment in time.”
The Emmy-nominated actor played the role of Sodapop Curtis in the film.
Lowe said Cruise, who played Steve Randle, showed flashes of brilliance early in his career during the production of the film.
He added: “The seriousness with which Francis and everyone, all the actors, took it, was really ahead of its time.”
Lowe said each of the performers chosen to appear in the film showed signs of their potential during the production of The Outsiders.
“Each of us brought individual things to the table that would later play out in our careers,” Lowe said.
Lowe told the outlet that he brought some of the aspects of his character in The Outsiders to his role in the television series Parks and Recreation, in which he played the role of Chris Traeger from 2010 to 2015.
“I think my character is pretty funny, kind-hearted and light-hearted,” he said. “If you watch something like Parks and Recreation, you can see elements of Soda Pop Curtis even in that.”
Lowe said in April 2020: The Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard that Cruise was furious when they were booked into a shared hotel room during production of the film.
Lowe said the incident occurred during the casting process for the film, when actors from around the country gathered to test their chemistry for the movie.
“Everyone from Los Angeles survived the L.A. auditions, and then the ones who were chosen had to go to New York to face the New York version,” Lowe said. “So it was me, Tom Cruise, Emilio and C. Thomas Howell.
Lowe, pictured in July on The Tonight Show, said making the film with the young cast and acclaimed filmmaker “was really something special” and marked “an incredible moment in time.”
(L-R) Estevez, Lowe, Howell, Swayze and Cruise photographed on the set of The Outsiders
Lowe said each of the actors cast in the film showed signs of their potential during the production of The Outsiders.
‘We check in and Tom finds out we’re sharing a room and he’s furious… I mean it made me laugh, it was horrible.’
Lowe said Cruise’s reaction was a reflection of his self-confidence from the start.
“For me, the great thing about history is that there are certain people who have always been who they are, and that element of them has propelled them to where they are today and the rest is history,” Lowe said. “And the idea that an 18-year-old actor with a supporting role in Endless Love and as a seventh lead in Taps could have that kind of resourcefulness.
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this guy is the real deal’… he’s been on the ball since day one.”