Entertainment TV Rob Lowe 2020? 'The Grinder' Star Dishes Which Career He Would Have Pursued Beyond Acting If He'd 'Had the Guts' The sitcom actor says he would have loved to run a presidential campaign By Lydia Price Published on September 29, 2015 12:45 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Rob Lowe returns to TV in all of his heartthrob glory on Tuesday night as the actor stars alongside Fred Savage in Fox’s new comedy The Grinder. “The show is about a beloved television icon coming to terms with the end of his eight-year hit legal drama ending and realizing that what he really wants is a normal, authentic family life,” Lowe tells PEOPLE about his character on the show. “He decides he’s going to join the family business which is practicing law, without actually knowing anything about the actual law.” The premise wasn’t a stretch for the former political drama star, who admits to feeling similarly inspired to make a career switch after working on The West Wing. “I have to be honest, if I had the guts to do it, I would love to after having played Sam Seaborn on The West Wing for so long to take a sabbatical and be in the trenches and have a presidential campaign.” “It’d be really fun and I’d be really interested in it,” says Lowe. “I probably think I knew a lot more about it than I actually do so it’s just like The Grinder.” As for which characters he actually relates to personality-wise, Lowe said he’s a mix between White House Communications Director Seaborn and Parks and Recreation‘s upbeat state auditor Chris Traeger. “I think I’m probably a healthy mix of Sam from The West Wing and Chris from Parks,” he says. To Lowe, 51, using your true self to build a character is crucial to the acting process. “[The more] you can mine from yourself and put into the character the more successful you’ll be in my opinion.” •Reporting by PATRICK GOMEZ RELATED VIDEO: Check Out Rob Lowe’s Changing Looks! The Grinder premieres Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox.