8 Actors Who SAVED Their Careers By Turning Down TV Roles
2. Rob Lowe Wouldn't Have Been Able To Do Parks & Rec Had He Starred In Grey's Anatomy
For many, the idea of scoring a role as well-known as Grey's Anatomy's Derek Shepherd would be something too tantalising to turn down. And Rob Lowe was very much aware of how big an opportunity had been sent his way when he was suddenly offered the role of eventual "McDreamy" as the show was set to begin production.
The only problem was that, despite Grey's possessing "a much better script", the actor had already agreed to star in CBS' Dr. Vegas show. And with ABC not exactly smashing it out of the park at that time, Lowe sensed "the odds were just too stacked" to turn down the Vegas spot.
Oh, how wrong he was.
But far from regretting the missed apparent $70 million payday, Lowe has gone on record to note how he doesn't feel he would have nailed the part in quite the same way Patrick Dempsey did. And had he not turned down the role, he likely wouldn't have been able to commit himself to the much-loved part of upbeat city manager Chris Traeger in Parks and Recreation; or many of his other subsequent big and small screen roles for that matter.
And as Lowe himself would put it, "If it’d been me (the fans) wouldn’t have called me ‘McDreamy,’ they would have called me Rob Lowe." So, maybe his passing up on the part was best for all involved, eh?