Rob Lowe Went to Liza Minnelli's Hotel Room and Told Her He Wanted to Be an Actor at Age 10

Rob Lowe sought out acting advice from one of Hollywood's biggest stars when he was just a kid

Rob Lowe learned from a young age that networking is the key to success.

The actor stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday and recalled meeting the legendary Liza Minnelli for the first time — in her hotel room.

“I’m 10 years old, wanting to be a child actor and I’m living in Dayton, Ohio,” he recalled. “There is nothing happening, and it’s the mid ’70s.”

Lowe, 55, said he noticed a luggage tag with Minnelli’s name on it sitting in the lobby of a hotel.

“I go to the front desk and I ask, ‘What room is Liza Minnelli in?’ And they tell me! What were they thinking? I was a 10-year-old boy!” he said with a laugh. “I just flat-out asked, and I went up and knocked on the door in the middle of the day.”

Charley Gallay/Getty; Jim Spellman/WireImage

Minnelli answered the door with a robe on. Lowe joked that in hindsight, he was probably disturbing her alone time with then-husband Jack Haley Jr. “It was the middle of the day and they were in robes and eating chocolate and drinking red wine,” he said.

Regardless of any accidental interruptions, Lowe said Minnelli couldn’t have been more welcoming.

“[I said] ‘Hi, I’m Rob Lowe and I want to be an actor,’ ” he said. “She was awesome. She invited me into the room. … She was so nice to me, and Liza was fascinated and wanted to know why I wanted to be an actor. She was awesome!”

Of course, whatever advice Minnelli gave Lowe must have stuck: He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC’s short-lived sitcom A New Kind of Family and has gone on to become one of the most successful television actors in Hollywood.

Looking back on his time with Minnelli, Lowe said seeing her perform at the Hollywood Bowl in 2012 felt like a full-circle moment.

“Now we are friends,” he said. “She’s the best.”

The Kelly Clarkson Show airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings).