Rob Lowe has recalled when his long-time friend and “The Outsiders” co-star Tom Cruise knocked him out when the two actors sparred in a hotel hallway.
“He [Mr. Cruise] is so competitive that we used to box in the hallway of the hotel we were staying during ‘Outsiders,’” Mr. Lowe said. “So much testosterone. We’re 18-year-old guys stuck on location. So we would wear headgear, and we'd have mouthpieces in, but we would legitimately spar.”
Mr. Lowe said he hadn’t started to work out yet and remembered having “a pipe cleaner arm” at the time. Mr. Cruise, meanwhile, was “jacked” compared to him, the 60-year-old recalled.
“Tom is like this beast,” he said. “I hit him real clean, and I rang his bell. And the next thing I knew, I woke up, and I was coming to on the floor. He like completely knocked me out.”
The “Austin Powers in Goldmember” actor said he believes Mr. Cruise’s defensive instincts came into play after he punched him “hard,” adding that the eyes of the “Mission: Impossible” star “just went black” before he knocked him out.
Path to Stardom
Mr. Lowe began acting as a teenager, and his breakout role came in the film version of a book by S.E. Hinton, “The Outsiders,” which starred Mr. Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, and Diane Lane.“The Outsiders” is a crime-drama film directed by master filmmaker Mr. Coppola, who also made “The Godfather” trilogy.
He played the role of Sodapop Curtis, the younger brother of Darrel Curtis (played by Mr. Swayze) and the older brother of Ponyboy Curtis (played by Mr. Howell).
The movie received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing more than $33 million on a $10 million budget.
While “The Outsiders” won a great deal of critical acclaim and certainly helped launch Mr. Lowe’s Hollywood career, the role that catapulted him into stardom was his portrayal of White House deputy communications officer Sam Seaborn in “The West Wing,” which earned him two awards for outstanding performances in a drama series.
Mr. Lowe has appeared in more than 100 films and television programs throughout his career, which spans over four decades, and has earned him four Golden Globe nominations and many other awards. He currently stars as Owen Strand in FOX’s drama series “9-1-1: Lone Star.”
