The Gift of Childhood Wounds
How the Darkness of Childhood Depression Shaped His Career
“In some ways, I think the way I felt inside my skin was somehow the fuel that was burning to follow an artistic path because I always felt like I wanted to be heard and I think that’s a common feeling for a lot of people who go into the arts, it’s feeling like you have — having the audacity to feel like you have something to say and that you have a story to be told.”
For actor and director, Chad Lowe, childhood was a challenging period. Dealing with the effects of his parents’ divorce and their later remarriages, Lowe recalls it as a time of depression and self-doubt. In this episode, he discusses feeling like he never fit in, and acknowledges that his inner turmoil eventually played a part in his unexpected journey to becoming a successful actor.
Chad Lowe II is an American actor and director. Born and raised in Dayton, after his parents divorced he and his brother, actor Rob Lowe, later moved to Malibu, where his childhood friends were the children of celebrities. With an impressive number of roles to his credit, he has appeared in such well-known shows as ER, Melrose Place, and Now and again. He has also appeared in a number of feature films as well as television films. In the early ’90s, Lowe won an Emmy for his supporting role in Life Goes On for playing a young man living with HIV, a groundbreaking topic at that time.
What You’ll Learn from This Episode:
- How his parents’ histories are shaping his own commitments as a father
- The darkness of dealing with childhood depression at a time when it was not recognized
- A possible environmental link that contributed to his mother’s death from cancer
- How it felt to be plunked into Malibu and befriending the children of major celebrities
- How Martin Sheen became his mentor and the advice that changed Lowe’s career
- Why brother Rob Lowe’s teen career in acting was off-putting to young Chad
- The hard-nosed approach their parents took to both brothers’ acting careers
- How Rob’s career ultimately gave Chad a leg up in his own, and the pressure of proving he deserved it
- How his pharmacy job as a stock boy allowed him to pursue a career in acting
- A brave but naive decision that he regrets to this day
- The decision that sent 15-year-old Lowe to New York City
- Why being a “starving artist” changed the direction of his career
- A discussion about the significance of his favourite role and why it was so important
- Why he did not attend the ceremony when he won an Emmy