Rob Lowe Career Retrospective

Rob Lowe steals the show in 'Sex Tape.' Whether his own place in sex tape history inspired his role in the movie, we can't say, but from hunky heartthrob to hilarious character actor, here's a look back at the ageless star's long career.

Lowe's very first role was as Tommy Flanagan in this short-lived sitcom. He was only 15 at the time. Here he is flanked by co-stars Eileen Brennan (left) and Gwynne Gilford.

Instant Brat Pack: just add 'Outsiders.' Lowe (second from left) made his big-screen debut as Sodapop Curtis in the teen classic. He was just one of the film's many breakout stars, along with Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze and so on.

What would an '80s teen actor's career be without an '80s teen sex comedy in the mix? Lowe – looking great in ladies' underwear – was a veteran compared to his debuting co-stars Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack and Virginia Madsen.

Lowe and Jodie Foster play brother and sister in this quirky 1950s-set comedy/drama based on the John Irving novel. The film is sort of an ancestor to Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel,' only messier.

Lowe's first outing as a solo star. He plays a Vegas hustler who worms his way into Oxford University in order to woo a British babe. He proves to be a natural at rowing, and with Yankee Ally Sheedy at his side, you know where this is going.

The movie that truly defined the Brat Pack. Lowe (back row, right) rocks an early mullet as immature bad boy Billy, though we must say that 'St. Elmo's Fire' isn’t nearly as good as its soundtrack. ("Man in Motion," anyone?)

The second half of the 1980s gave us many forgettable Rob Lowe vehicles, but 'About Last Night…' -- his second teaming with onetime girlfriend Demi Moore -- endures. It was even remade in 2014 with an African-American cast.

Lowe's 1988 sex tape scandal – the granddaddy of all celebrity sex tape scandals – derailed his leading-man status. After a two year hiatus, he returned in this underrated thriller, cast against type as a manipulative villain.

It took this Mike Myers/Dana Carvey hit to help Lowe fit snugly back into ensembles and reinvent his onscreen persona. From here on out, the actor would often lampoon his good looks by playing wonderfully comical cads.

Lowe, playing another one of those cads, went uncredited in this Chris Farley/David Spade comedy; reportedly, his contract for the TV miniseries 'The Stand' forebade him from taking on any other credited work at the time.

This sci-fi drama is so dominated by Lowe's old 'Hotel New Hampshire' costar Jodie Foster (and, to a lesser extent, by Matthew McConaughey) that it's easy to forget that he has a small role as a conservative activist.

Who else could play a young Number Two? Lowe (who also had a cameo in the first 'Austin Powers') must have been Mike Myers's lucky charm; maybe if there had been a part for him in 'The Love Guru,' it wouldn't have bombed.

In 1999, series television was still considered a step down for most movie stars. But with Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe headlining Aaron Sorkin's brilliant political drama, those prejudices would soon change.

This indie film, director Jason Reitman's auspicious debut, features Lowe in one of his typical fleeting-but-fabulous cameos as a Hollywood agent being lobbied to make cigarettes look cool again. (That's Adam Brody next to Lowe.)

Though he had kept busy in film and TV, Lowe's most popular show after "The West Wing" was this sitcom. His health-obsessed official (left, with Adam Scott) was written as a guest-starring role, but he soon became a regular.

We conclude our retrospective with an image you cannot unsee: Lowe's funny supporting stint as Liberace's (Michael Douglas) freakish-looking plastic surgeon. He gives us the heebie-jeebies – but in a good way.