Rob Lowe on Rebuilding His Career After Sex Tape: "I Never Got Banned From The Game"

The actor covers the October issue of GQ magazine, where he opens up about rebuilding his image, finding the right roles and staying sober.

Back in 1989, Rob's career took a hit when a video surfaced showing him and a 16-year--old girl in a compromising position. While the sex tape lost Lowe a major movie role, he was still able to bounce back.

"I've been fortunate that I've always, always, always worked. Even after the sex tape was made public, it was like: You're still a professional baseball player, but you're playing for Double or Triple A," he tells the mag. "I lost the role in 'Titanic' that Billy Zane got. But I was never banned from the game."

The 51-year-old likewise says that the tape forced him to reinvent himself -- which led him to comedy.

"If you are in a transitional period, rebuilding period, a fallow period, go to the opposite end of your range," Lowe suggests. "For me that was comedy. … But there was a moment when I was playing Eddie Nero on 'Californication,' the senator on 'Brothers and Sisters,' Chris Traeger on 'Parks and Rec,' and Drew Peterson [in a TV movie about the killer]—sometimes all in the same week. I thought: This isn't what I signed up for, but it's actually better than what I signed up for."

While the actor has been able to maintain a prominent presence in Hollywood after all these years, he also believes part of his success is knowing when to quit too.

"I left 'Brothers and Sisters' when they ran out of storytelling runway," he confesses. "I mean, there are only so many family dinners you can do. I eventually had to go to them and say, 'Look, I don't do spatula work. I don't do scenes with oven mitts. If you're looking for that, you've got the wrong guy. I'm not doing scenes with casseroles."

And one of Rob's greatest achievements has been his sobriety -- he's been alcohol-free for the last 26 years!

"For someone in recovery like me, the single greatest hurdle -- the number one with a bullet that will make you drink -- is resentment. You can't have it," he says about staying sober.