Why Rob Lowe's Experience On Parks And Recreation Was Absolutely Exhausting
Between 2009 and 2015, seven seasons of Parks and Recreation aired with the show eventually becoming a hit. While none of Parks and Recreation's stars were making millions like some other TV stars, the show's cast seems to love each other. One example of that is during their time working together, Amy Poehler and Aubrey Plaza became very close.
Despite the fact that Rob Lowe sometimes feels less valuable than other people, it was a big deal for the show when he joined Parks and Recreation's cast. Unfortunately for Lowe, however, he found starring in Parks and Recreation to be completely exhausting at times.
Did Rob Lowe Like Starring In Parks And Recreation?
Similar to its spiritual forbearer, The Office, Parks and Recreation became one of the most beloved sitcoms of the modern era. Able to attract an extremely passionate fan following, the stars of Parks and Recreation often get asked about the show even when they are being interviewed for other reasons.
In Rob Lowe's case, he has talked about Parks and Recreation in a slew of different interviews. During a 2021 Parade interview, Lowe spoke about his podcast Parks and Recollection which Jim O'Heir later took over co-hosting. As a part of that conversation, Lowe was asked what he misses most about making Parks and Recreation and he expressed how much he adores his former co-stars.
"I miss most the experience of doing it because everybody on the show loved everybody. We're all still friends. Everybody was so talented. Everybody was so industrious on their own outside of the show with stand-up comedy tours and movies they were starring it."
Lowe continued, "You name it, everybody had a really huge life professionally beyond just Parks, which made it super interesting and you miss that camaraderie and that team. I miss playing on that team."
Parade's interviewer also brought up the virtual Parks and Recreation cast reunion that Lowe took part in. When Lowe was asked if he would reunite with his former co-stars again, he didn't skip a beat before saying he would. "Anytime anybody wants to put that team back on the field, I would be happy to get back in that batting order."
Based on those comments and countless others Lowe has made during interviews, there is no doubt he is very thankful he got to star in Parks and Recreation.
Why Was Starring In Parks And Recreation Difficult For Rob Lowe?
During the vast majority of Rob Lowe's interviews where he speaks about Parks and Recreation, he is overwhelmingly positive about the show. In fact, Lowe typically is so positive about his time starring in Parks and Recreation that he brings to mind his character in the show, Chris Traeger.
On top of being very positive about Parks and Recreation during interviews, Lowe's actions speak louder than his words. After all, Lowe starred in several seasons of Parks and Recreation when he didn't need to if didn't like making the show.
All of that said, the truth is that life is a nuanced experience. Even though Lowe clearly loved starring in Parks and Recreation and adored his co-stars, that doesn't necessarily mean he enjoyed every aspect of working on the show.
In 2014, Lowe participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session to promote his memoir that was being released at the time, "Love Life". Unsurprisingly, Lowe was asked a lot of interesting questions during that process.
Since Lowe has had a long and fascinating acting career, he was asked a long series of questions about the movies and shows he has starred in. On top of that, Lowe faced questions about his personal life since he was there to promote his memoir.
Arguably the most interesting fan post in the Ask Me Anything session began with a story. At the beginning of his post, a Reddit user who was a big fan of Lowe's revealed that he got a job after deciding to channel Chris Traeger during his interview.
Perhaps channeling Chris Traeger for a little while gave that fan a different perspective on the character. Either way, the fan asked Lowe a question about his Parks and Recreation experience that the actor typically doesn't address.
"Here's the best question I can come up with - how did being Chris affect your mood off-set? Would you go home in a better mood, or worse because you "used up" all of your positive energy? I imagine at the very least it would have been exhausting to be overwhelmingly positive all day every day."
After thanking the fan for his story, Lowe went on to address his question. Since Lowe has always seemed very grateful for his life, complaining about portraying Chris Traeger seems to be out of his nature. However, after being asked this question, Lowe took the opportunity to be honest about the downside of his Parks and Recreation role.
"That story makes me feel so good. Those are the kind of things that make me pause, and so grateful for my job. And yes, there were days when I would so tired because Chris could never BE tired, and there are days which we all have where I was maybe a little melancholy or subdued or thoughtful, and Chris doesn't have those days."
Lowe continued, "That was never an option. So Chris could make me tired in ways that no part had before, because of the level of enthusiasm, and yet the enthusiasm inevitably ended up powering me through the day."
Thanks to medical studies it is known that smiling a lot can make people feel more positive. The reason for this is smiling causes a chemical reaction in a person's brain that can actually trick them into being happier.
However, being forced to smile all day, every day that you work no matter how you're feeling sounds like it would be exhausting. On top of that, Chris Traeger didn't just smile a lot, he also had an extremely positive and energetic personality in almost every scene.
If fans consider what it would be like to portray Traeger from Lowe's perspective, it is easy to see why the role could take a lot out of him.
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