Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor. He has garnered fame for appearing in such films as The Outsiders (1983), Oxford Blues (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), About Last Night... (1986), Square Dance (1987), Wayne's World (1992), Tommy Boy (1995), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Thank You for Smoking (2006) and Sex Tape (2014).On television, Lowe played Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, Senator Robert McCallister on Brothers & Sisters, and Chris Traeger in Parks and Recreation. 2013 saw him portray both Dr. Jack Starz in the HBO television film Behind the Candelabra and President John F. Kennedy in the National Geographic Channel television film Killing Kennedy. In 2014, he began appearing in a series of DirecTV commercials. From 2015 to 2016, he starred alongside Fred Savage in The Grinder on FOX. In June 2016, Lowe was considered to replace Kelly Ripa's co-host Michael Strahan in the ABC morning talk show Live! with Kelly and Michael after Strahan's departure in May. However, he dropped out of the race in August, leaving CNN host Anderson Cooper, Grinder co-star Fred Savage, and actor Jerry O'Connell as the remaining candidates.In addition to receiving an Emmy Award nomination in 2001 for his work on The West Wing, Lowe has been nominated for six Golden Globe Awards; his nominations span four of the seven categories for male actors.