Well this news just blows me away. Rob Lowe will play President John F. Kennedy Jr.in the upcoming National Geographic movie, Killing Kennedy. That's just ... weirdly brilliant. Lowe has the same kind of go-getter, short-guy handsomeness that JFK did, if that makes sense. I think they do resemble each other a bit, or enough for this movie, anyway. And Lowe has enough charisma to play JFK. But does he have the GRAAAHVITAS?
I love Lowe, but he suffers from acute adorableness. He'll have to shed every bit of cute and put on his serious face if he wants to play the former president. We can't see a whiff of his Parks and Recreation Chris Traeger in this role. And can he pull off a Bostonian accent? Getting an accent right can sometimes propel an actor deeper into a character or just totally throw off a performance. But he can do it. You can do it, dude! I'm dying to see how it all turns out.
JFK is the perfect challenge for Lowe, considering what else he's been up to lately. He played murderer Drew Peterson on Lifetime's Untouchable and more recently plastic surgeon Dr. Starz in HBO's Behind the Candelabra. Man is getting around! And good for him. Who knew, back when we were all drooling over his sexy slacker sax player in St. Elmo's Fire, that he'd still be around today, turning out this wide variety of performances?
Anyway, the National Geographic movie is based on the Bill O'Reilly book by the same name and Ginnifer Goodwin will play Jacqueline Kennedy, LIKE THAT MAKES ANY SENSE AT ALL. I think that casting is going to make it harder for Rob to pull off JFK. I like Goodwin, but what the hell are they thinking? Did they just kind of flip through channels one night and say, "Her, that one, she's got dark hair, she'll do!"
No word yet on who will play Lee Harvey Oswald, but I hope they find the right guy for that role. Edward Norton is probably asking for too much. Just please tell me it won't be John Krasinski. Please, TV gods, resist the temptation to cast John Krasinski.
What do you think about Rob Lowe playing JFK?
Image via NBC