Rob Lowe has portrayed everyone from a political insider (The West Wing) to a rebellious teenager (The Outsiders) to almost playing a doctor (passing on the role of Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy that ultimately went to Patrick Dempsey). It is now looking like he may be ready to take on one of his most controversial roles yet; Deadline reports that Lowe is in discussions with Ryan Murphy to quite possibly bring the story of “The Tiger King” Joe Exotic to life, via a scripted adaptation. The discussions are right now, in very preliminary stages.
Lowe made the announcement via an Instagram post where he announced ““Ryan Murphy and I will be developing our version of this insane story. Stay tuned!” he proclaimed. He also was cheekily posed in several shots that showcased him dressed and styled in a fashion very close to that of the controversial cat wrangler himself.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness continues to be a nationwide phenomenon. After dropping on Netflix for a beyond ready to binge captive audience, it has attracted hilarious reenactments, memes, and even warranted a bonus special from Netflix where they followed up on some of the most polarizing figures from the Tiger King docuseries. Coincidentally, Murphy’s new landmark deal with Netflix almost guarantees that the possible series would air on Netflix.
If this project comes to fruition, this will not be the first time Lowe has portrayed a beyond campy character on film who also happens to be a member of the LGBT community. In the HBO Liberace biopic Beyond The Candelabra, Lowe portrayed Dr. Jack Starz, a plastic surgeon who Liberace (Michael Douglas) personally commissioned to recreate his paramour Scott (Matt Damon) to closely resemble Liberace’s own face via drastic plastic surgery.
What is your favorite role that Rob Lowe has inhabited? Toss some suggestions into the comments below…
“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” is currently airing on Netflix