Rob Lowe: 'Too pretty' to play Drew Peterson?

On the face of it, Parks and Recreation star Rob Lowe is a curious choice to play Drew Peterson, the former police sergeant charged with killing his third and fourth wives, but he'll do just that in an upcoming Lifetime TV movie called The Drew Peterson Story aka Ladykiller. Physically, the two are quite different — the graying Peterson, 10 years older, doesn't exactly share Lowe's chiseled jaw and "piercing" blue eyes. (Not that Peterson is flattered — he was lobbying for Denzel Washington to take the role.) Can the typically sunny Lowe tap into the dark complexities of this alleged criminal, or is he "too pretty to play ugly"?

The casting isn't realistic: "I'm not saying that an actor can't ugly up to play a role," says Curt Wagner at the Chicago Tribune, "but this news is ridiculous." It's too hard to imagine that the "forever sexy" Rob Lowe would gain weight for a "cheesy" Lifetime movie. "If Lowe pulls this off, someone deserves an Emmy."

"Rob Lowe as Drew Peterson? What the?!"

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Actually, this could work: Issues of attractiveness aside, this is an "interesting" role for Lowe to take on, says Mandi Bierly at Entertainment Weekly. With four wives, Peterson must have had a certain way with the ladies. Considering Lowe's "innate likability and charm," it should be easy "to buy that these young women fall for him." And let's not forget Lowe's own "interesting past." Like Peterson, the actor should be capable of playing a person who does things "that need to be hidden."

"Rob Lowe to play alleged killer Drew Peterson in Lifetime movie. Can this work?"

But the movie shouldn't be happening at all: It's easy to see why an "outwardly gorgeous" person like Lowe would be drawn to an "inwardly hideous" character like Peterson, says Tim Molloy at The Wrap. After all, "actors like to get dirty, and audiences are titillated by the notion that someone so dreamy could also be so bad." But no matter how juicy the story, any project that will "inflate the self-worth of megalomaniacs" like Peterson doesn't deserve to get made.

"Rob Lowe as Drew Peterson? 5 killers who don't deserve to be played by such good-looking actors"