Rob Lowe says The Outsiders castmates like Tom Cruise ‘are my frat brothers’

Rob Lowe likened the ensemble cast of The Outsiders – which included Tom Cruise – to his ‘frat brothers’ in a recent interview.

The 60-year-old actor, in a discussion with People, spoke about the Francis Ford Coppola-directed film, in which he co-starred with Cruise, 62, Matt Dillon, 60, Emilio Estevez, 62, Ralph Macchio, 62, C. Thomas Howell, 57, and Patrick Swayze, who passed away at 57 in 2009.

“Those [co-stars] are my guys, my homies, my frat brothers,” said the Charlottesville, Virginia-born actor, recalling how he “turned 18 on-set in Tulsa” while filming the motion picture.

“We all were deadly serious and super-competitive,” Lowe remarked about the core group of actors who would go on to earn varying levels of fame in the years following the film’s release.

The Emmy-nominated actor, who played Sodapop Curtis, noted that Cruise, who played Steve Randle, showed early signs of brilliance.

“Tom being Tom took it to another level,” Lowe said. “He was just born with that kind of commitment and was inspiring.”

He added, “In Tom, you can see the intensity in The Outsiders that has him hanging off of an airplane in his late 50s. The embryos of who we became are [evident] if you’re looking close enough.”

Lowe mentioned that his understanding of the film, which was adapted from S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel, has changed with time.

“It’s funny, the movie meant different things to me over the years,” Lowe said. “As it was happening, it seemed perfectly natural, [and] that was my fraternity.”

He added, “And now with time, and with so many generations growing up and accepting the movie, and it being a part of their lives … to be part of it is really special.”

Lowe appreciated the support he received from Estevez, a childhood friend from Malibu, California.

“Emilio helped me navigate where this was all going,” Lowe said of his fellow Brat Pack member, known for films like The Breakfast Club, Stakeout, and The Mighty Ducks.

“It was good to have a best buddy going through highs and lows of being a young actor in Hollywood.”

Reflecting on the experience of making the film, Lowe said working with the young cast and acclaimed director “felt really special” and signified “an amazing moment in time.”

He added, “The seriousness with which Francis and everybody, all the actors, took it, was really ahead of its time.”

Lowe observed that each actor in the film showcased hints of their future potential during production.

“All of us brought our individual things that you would see later in our careers,” Lowe said.

Lowe shared that he incorporated aspects of his character from The Outsiders into his role on the TV series Parks and Recreation, where he played Chris Traeger from 2010 to 2015.

“I think my character is sort of funny on his feet, and good-natured and light,” he said. “If you look at something like Parks and Recreation, you can see elements of Soda Pop Curtis even in that.”

In April 2020, on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Lowe recounted how Cruise went “ballistic” when they were assigned to share a hotel room during the film’s casting process.

Lowe explained that the incident occurred during the film’s auditions, when actors from across the country were brought together to test their chemistry.

“All of the LA people survived the LA auditions, and then the hand-picked people had to go to New York to face the New York version,” Lowe said. “So it was me and Tom Cruise and Emilio and C. Thomas Howell.”

“We check-in and Tom finds out that we’re sharing a room and just goes ballistic … it made me laugh, it was gnarly.”

Lowe viewed Cruise’s reaction as a sign of his self-assurance.

“To me, what’s great about the story is, there’s certain people who have always been who they are, and that element of them has powered them to where they are today and the rest is history,” Lowe said. “And the notion that an 18-year-old actor with a walk-on part in Endless Love and like a seventh lead in Taps could have that kind of wherewithal.

“I remember going, ‘Wow, this guy is the real deal’ … he’s had his eye on the ball since day one.”