Rob Lowe talks being 'pretty' and politics

NEW YORK, April 7 (UPI) -- Rob Lowe talks politics and being "pretty" in a new interview published Sunday.

The actor, who recently turned 50, spoke to the New York Times about his new book, his show Parks and Recreation, and his political beliefs. Lowe recently wrote a second memoir, Love Life, that will hit shelves on April 8.

One topic touched upon in the book is the way the actor's looks impacted his early roles. "There's this unbelievable bias and prejudice against quote-unquote good-looking people," Lowe says. "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 I'm loving it," he continues. "When I was a teen idol, I was so goddamn pretty I wouldn't have taken myself seriously."

The actor currently portrays eternal optimist Chris Traeger on Parks and Rec. Lowe says he identifies with the character because his own "deep dark secret" is that he "was a nerd in school."

The Parks and Rec star has been sober for several years, and says he finds both drugs and political party loyalties "highly overrated."

"In the United States, recreational drug use is sort of acceptable. Belonging to one party is acceptable," the actor elaborates. "But my days of just ticking the party box are long over. I judge the candidates for who they are."

"My thing is personal freedoms," Lowe asserts. "Freedoms for the individual to love whom they want, do with what they want. In fact, I want the government out of almost everything."

The sixth season of Parks and Rec is currently underway. The show airs on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Lowe will also appear in the upcoming comedy film Sex Tape.

[New York Times]