Rob Lowe Reveals Milk Carton Prank He Pulled Around ‘West Wing’ Exit

by

As Rob Lowe approached his final days on “The West Wing”, he demonstrated a great sense of humor by showcasing a homemade prop prior to his official departure from the show.

In a video shared on TikTok on Thursday, Lowe addressed the camera while standing in a storage room. “There’s been a lot of discussion about my past struggles, like those portrayed on ‘The West Wing’, which I adore,” he said. “I have nothing but love for that show and its talented cast. We’ve moved past any issues now, but there were challenges back then.

Lowe felt that at some stage, his role on the show seemed insignificant or unnecessary, which made him feel underutilized.

As a passionate gamer, here’s my take:

“You know, I whipped up a few of these and sent them out to everyone associated with the show. That includes the network, the studio, and the producers. I was holding a milk carton, you see, with a poster that looked like a missing-children notice, but it was my character, Sam Seaborn, on there. Yep, I sent them all over the place.

As a gamer, I’d rephrase it like this:

“Back in 2002, during the Christmas episode, my on-screen character, Sam, went missing. He was described as a 170-pound guy with blue eyes. That was the last time he was seen on screen before his disappearance. If you spot him anywhere, please give Bernie Brillstein, my manager, a call.

Lowe initially starred on the original “West Wing” show alongside Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, and the late John Spencer. His character was the deputy White House communications director. However, he chose to depart from the series created by Aaron Sorkin during season four, allegedly due to disputes over salary and screen time.

John Lowe played a key role as the deputy White House communications director on “West Wing,” sharing the limelight with Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, and the late John Spencer. But after three successful seasons, he decided to leave during season four, reportedly due to disagreements about his salary and screen time.

Lowe’s last leading role was in the fourth season episode named “Red Haven’s on Fire,” which aired in February 2003. Nevertheless, he came back to play the character for several episodes during the series’ seventh and concluding seasons from 2005 to 2006.

Or, more casually:

Lowe played his final main role in the fourth season episode “Red Haven’s on Fire” that aired in February 2003. But he returned for some episodes during the seventh and last seasons of the show from 2005 to 2006.

As the series drew to a close, I found myself serving as deputy chief of staff under the newly elected President Matt Santos, brilliantly played by Jimmy Smits – an incredible turn of events for me!

The TikTok video isn’t the first instance where Lowe has discussed his departure from “The West Wing.” In an interview on Penn Badgley’s podcast, Podcrushed, in April 2023, Lowe expressed that he had a poor experience working on the political series and felt underappreciated during filming.

He commented once, ‘After hearing my tales, others swear off sharing their own.’ They were so gripping that they sent shivers down one’s spine, and there are some I actually penned myself. I included some in my book, but chose not to reveal many more because the people implicated would have appeared so poorly that I didn’t wish to do them such harm.

Lowe stated that he had given it his best shot, but in the end, he felt that departing from the show was the right choice.

Read More

2025-07-26 02:25