Rob Lowe: There Is 'This Unbelievable Bias' Against Attractive Actors

April 7, 2014 -- Rob Lowe believes he was unfairly typecast in Hollywood.

Why? Because of his looks.

"When I was a teen idol, I was so goddamn pretty I wouldn't have taken myself seriously," he told the New York Times. "There's this unbelievable bias and prejudice against quote-unquote good-looking people, that they can't be in pain or they can't have rough lives or be deep or interesting. They can't be any of the things that you long to play as an actor. I'm getting to play those parts now and loving it."

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However, Lowe, who recently turned 50, said that his reputation as a hunk is not necessarily founded. In fact, he said, his "deep dark secret" is that as a teen, he was actually a "nerd."

"I liked the theater. I liked to study. I wasn't very good at sports," he said. "It took being famous to make me cool, which, by the way, I never forgot."

Now starring in the upcoming film "Sex Tape" ("I pioneered the field [and] it's high time I actually made some money it!" he joked, referring to his 1988 scandal), the actor explained that he's happily living outside of Hollywood.

"I don't live in Los Angeles," he said, when asked about seeing his former Brat Pack pals. "Between the family, the books, the this, the that, honestly I don't hang out with anybody. I saw Demi Moore at a Fourth of July party probably going on two years ago."