Rob Lowe compared the ensemble cast of The Outsiders – which included Tom Cruise – to his ‘frat brothers’ in a new interview.

The 60-year-old actor, speaking with People about the Francis Ford Coppola-directed motion picture, in which he starred alongside Cruise, 62, Matt Dillon, 60, Emilio Estevez, 62, Ralph Macchio, 62, C. Thomas Howell, 57, and the late Patrick Swayze, who died at 57 in 2009.

‘Those [costars] are my guys, my homies, my frat brothers,’ the Charlottesville, Virginia-born star said, noting that he ‘turned 18 on-set in Tulsa’ on the set of the motion picture.

‘We all were deadly serious and super-competitive,’ Lowe said of the core group of actors, who would go on to varying levels of stardom in the years after the film’s release.

The Emmy-nominated actor, who played the role of Sodapop Curtis in the movie, said that Cruise, who played Steve Randle, flashed glimpses of brilliance early on in his career.

Rob Lowe, 60, compared the ensemble cast of The Outsiders – which included Tom Cruise – to his ‘frat brothers’ in a new interview. Pictured in April 2023 in NYC

(L-R) Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Lowe and Tom Cruise on the set of The Outsiders

‘Tom being Tom took it to another level,’ Lowe said. ‘He was just born with that kind of commitment and was inspiring.’

He added, ‘In Tom, you can see the intensity in The Outsiders that has him hanging off of an airplane in his late 50s. The embryos of who we became are [evident] if you’re looking close enough.’

Lowe said that his interpretation of the motion picture, which was adapted from the 1967 novel from author S.E. Hinton, has evolved over time.

‘It’s funny, the movie meant different things to me over the years,’ Lowe said. ‘As it was happening, it seemed perfectly natural, [and] that was my fraternity.’

He continued: ‘And now with time, and with so many generations growing up and accepting the movie, and it being a part of their lives … to be part of it is really special.’

Lowe noted that he received strong support from Estevez, a childhood friend he grew up with in Malibu, California.

‘Emilio helped me navigate where this was all going,’ Lowe said of his fellow Brat Pack member, whose films include The Breakfast Club, Stakeout and The Mighty Ducks.

He added: ‘It was good to have a best buddy going through highs and lows of being a young actor in Hollywood.’

Lowe said that making the movie with the young cast and feted filmmaker ‘felt really special’ and marked ‘an amazing moment in time.’

The Emmy-nominated actor played the role of Sodapop Curtis in the movie

Lowe said that Cruise, who played Steve Randle, flashed glimpses of brilliance early on in his career during production of the film

He added, ‘The seriousness with which Francis and everybody, all the actors, took it, was really ahead of its time.’

Lowe said that each of the entertainers cast in the motion picture displayed hints of their potential amid production of The Outsiders.

‘All of us brought our individual things that you would see later in our careers,’ Lowe said.

Lowe told the outlet that he brought some of the aspects of his character in The Outsiders to his role on the TV series Parks and Recreation, on which he played the role of Chris Traeger from 2010–2015.

‘I think my character is sort of funny on his feet, and good-natured and light,’ he said, ‘if you look at something like Parks and Recreation, you can see elements of Soda Pop Curtis even in that.’

Lowe in April of 2020 said on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard that Cruise went ‘ballistic’ when they were booked to share a hotel room during production of the movie.

Lowe said that the incident occurred during the film’s casting process, as actors from across the country were brought together to test their chemistry for the movie.

‘All of the LA people survived the LA auditions, and then the hand-picked people had to go to New York to face the New York version,’ Lowe said. ‘So it was me and Tom Cruise and Emilio and C. Thomas Howell.

Lowe, pictured in July on The Tonight Show, said that making the movie with the young cast and feted filmmaker ‘felt really special’ and marked ‘an amazing moment in time’

(L-R) Estevez, Lowe, Howell, Swayze and Cruise pictured on the set of The Outsiders

Lowe said that each of the entertainers cast in the motion picture displayed hints of their potential amid production of The Outsiders

‘We check-in and Tom finds out that we’re sharing a room and just goes ballistic … I mean it made me laugh, it was gnarly.’

Lowe said Cruise’s reaction was reflective of his confidence in himself early on.

‘To me, what’s great about the story is, there’s certain people who have always been who they are, and that element of them has powered them to where they are today and the rest is history,’ Lowe said. ‘And the notion that an 18-year-old actor with a walk-on part in Endless Love and like a seventh lead in Taps could have that kind of like wherewithal.

‘I remember going, “Wow, this guy is the real deal” … he’s had his eye on the ball since day one.’