After he got sober 30 years ago, “I thought, I’m not going to be cool anymore,” Rob Lowe confessed to reporters at the winter Television Critics Association press tour earlier this month. “Then I got a call from Steven Tyler, and he said, ‘I heard you’re in recovery, and it’s going to be great.’ I thought, Dude, if it’s good enough for f–king Steven Tyler, it’s good enough for me!”

And it has been. Rob, 55, has been blissfully married since 1991 to Sheryl Berkoff and is the proud father of two sons, Matthew, 26, and John, 24. Plus, he’s got a new TV series: Fox’s 9-1-1: Lone Star, co-starring Aerosmith frontman Steven’s daughter Liv Tyler. “Every time I look at [her],” Rob said, “it makes my heart happy.”

He identifies with his role as the captain in charge of junior firefighters. “Trying to herd the cats of younger people finding their way through the world felt really natural,” he added. “Captains are like the fathers of the firehouse, so that was very easy to relate to.”

Robe Lowe Softball
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Rob tries to pass along the wisdom he’s attained to his kids and his younger co-stars. What advice would he give his 20-year-old self? “Don’t swing at the first pitch,” Rob exclusively told Closer Weekly at the recent California Strong Celebrity Softball Game. “Don’t take anything too seriously. Enjoy the ride of life.”

He’s doing just that — and remaining remarkably youthful at the same time. “I live a very healthy life,” he continued to Closer. “I eat well and I don’t drink. And if sleep were an Olympic sport, I’d be Michael Phelps.”

His physically grueling role on 9-1-1: Lone Star also keeps him in shape. “I’m going up and down ladders and rappelling down buildings,” he enthused. “The 12-year-old boy in me just loves coming to work.”

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