Celebrity Rob Lowe looks back on going to high school with Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, and Emilio Estevez The "9-1-1: Lone Star" actor and his sons took a trip down memory lane for Ancestry. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on June 13, 2024 11:21PM EDT Rob Lowe and his sons John Owen and Matthew filmed a little spot for Ancestry to commemorate Father's Day and to move some genealogy product. The trio visit Lowe's old teenage stomping grounds, Santa Monica High, which had perhaps the highest rate of future movie stars of any high school in the 1980s. Rob Lowe and sons. Ancestry/Youtube Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Lowe and sons break into the trophy case and retrieves his yearbook to page through some of his famous co-eds. "We got Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Emilio Estevez," Lowe recounts, coming upon a picture of Estevez, noting, "That was before The Outsiders." Lowe and Estevez were not friends before the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film, but became "best friends" during it. The Outsiders review: S.E. Hinton's beloved novel transforms into glittering Broadway musical Next up is Oscar-winner Robert Downey Jr, sporting a feathery helmet of hair — "Everybody has such great hair," Lowe marvels. Lowe included. Earlier this year, RDJ stopped by Lowe's Literally podcast and revealed how deeply jealous he was of Lowe, who was successfully balancing school and an acting career. “I want to say I was jealous, but that’s not deep enough,” Downey, then an aspiring actor, said. "I didn’t understand how anyone could get where you were, let alone still have attendance in school. It just seemed like there was something so high-functioning going on that there was no point for me to even attempt to understand it.” Of course, Downey Jr. ended up doing just fine. Eventually.