Rob Lowe's Son John Owen Is Aware — and 'Grateful' — He Got His 'Foot in the Door That Most People Don't'

Mark Williams & Sara Hirakawa for Men’s Health John Owen Lowe and Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe's son John Owen Lowe is a self-aware nepotism baby.

Owen, 28, was happy to join the "healthy conversation" about children of famous parents getting a leg up in Hollywood for Men's Health April 2023 cover story.

"I'm always more than willing — and I think it's important — to acknowledge that I did have opportunities that other people didn't have. I did get that foot in the door that most people don't, and for that I'm grateful," he continued. "And what is also true is that after getting that foot in the door, you do have to prove yourself. There's a difference between children of nepotism who have just been platformed and coasted on that and the ones who have worked hard and care about what they do."

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John Owen admitted that he's been compared to his Parks and Recreation alum dad, 58, a "number of times" — even by Rob himself.

"The number of times I got compared to my dad, and the number of times he was brought up in conversation, made me so uncomfortable that I wanted to move as far away from that as possible," he said.

Mark Williams & Sara Hirakawa for Men’s Health

But John Owen wasn't always aware of exactly who his dad was until he was a teenager.

"You know what it's kind of like? Santa Claus," he said. "I don't think most parents ever have that moment where they sit the kids down and go, 'Okay, we've got to tell you something.' A kid just figures it out."

He added, "There weren't milestone markers, like, 'Okay, he's 16 now, time for them to learn about this part of our life!'"

Mark Williams & Sara Hirakawa for Men’s Health Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe

Rob shares John Owen with wife Sheryl Berkoff. The longtime couple, who wed in 1991, are also parents to 30-year-old son Edward Matthew.

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Later this month, father and son will star opposite one another in Netflix's latest comedy, Unstable. The series sees a young man (Owen) stepping in to help save his grieving, biotech entrepreneur dad (Lowe) — and his company — from turmoil.

"Neither one of us could have made this show without the other," Lowe told the publication. "I couldn't have gone off and said, Hey, I wanna do a father-son show without John Owen."

Tibrina Hobson/Getty

John Owen — who is also a co-creator, co-executive producer and co-writer on the show — teased what to expect from the show, adding, "Here's what it is: It's similar tonally to that Thursday-night NBC lineup of The Office, Parks and Recreation and 30 Rock. That lineup was a big comedic foundation for me."

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Unstable premieres March 30 on Netflix.