Rob Lowe: all this news is killing me

Do you have the television on during the day?

No. The way that I listen to music, the way that I read books, the way that I watch television and the way that I watch movies is the same. Whenever I’m doing these things, I’m really focused. Other people will get up in the middle of a show to grab something from another room. They will take a phone call. They will have a conversation. I don’t do any of those things. My television is not on for background noise; I want it on to watch something, and then I want it off.

Talk us through your TV set-up...

I have a TV outside by the fireplace. That is my lounge; my man cave. It’s literally outside, so there are no walls. It’s a porch with a big, beautiful, outdoor fireplace. The TV is attached to the fireplace, so that’s all there is out there – but it’s great because the weather is so wonderful in California. I can be outside all year around.

How comfy is the sofa in your man cave?

My sofa can seat around ten people. It’s pretty small! I relax in there with a dog sitting next to me and a cigar in my hand.

Code Black

How many TVs do you have?

Too many. My wife [make-up artist Sheryl Berkoff] never met a room she didn’t want to put a TV in.

What are you watching on TV?

I tend to watch a lot of news on television, but I’m trying to break the habit. I don’t think all this news is good for me, especially in the current political climate. The good thing is that I now know absolutely everything about what’s going on in the world at any given moment. The bad thing is that it’s killing me from the inside out.

Who’s your go-to companion for a night on the sofa?

I love to watch TV with my oldest son, Matthew [23]. Lots of people have guilty pleasures; reality shows like The Bachelor. I’m not into that. My guilty pleasures are shows like Ancient Aliens, Finding Bigfoot and America’s Most Haunted.

You play a military doctor in the medical drama Code Black. Are you all right with all the blood and gore in the operation scenes?

I’m pretty good with it, but my long-time make-up and hair person struggles. They won’t come near me when I have fake blood on me. In one episode, we do an emergency caesarean. When we screened it, the audience gasped. It looks exactly like it is. I have seen the real thing – I have two kids and one of them was by caesarean.

You’ve got a free hour at home. How do you spend it?

I’ll head to the gym or I’ll go for a run – or I may even go paddle boarding. I tend to do something active with my spare time. And I’ll play with the dogs. I’ve got five of them at home.

Code Black is on Wednesdays at 9pm on the W channel