Rob Lowe, set to premiere as murder suspect Drew Peterson in the Lifetime movie "Untouchable" on Jan. 21, said this week that the role of the former Bolingbrook police officer was one that presented significant challenges to him -- in fact, he wasn't even sure he could pull it off.
In an AP interview released Wednesday, Lowe said he wanted to portray Peterson in the film because he was "shocked that they came to me. I couldn't imagine how I was going to do it. I didn't feel like I resembled him on any level and there was no part of my sort of persona or who I am as a person that I can access to play him, so with no idea how I was going to do it, I said, 'Yes.'"
Lowe noted that he is a "news junkie" and was familiar with Peterson before he was offered the role.
"I'd seen him, with my own eyes, walk off of a live national interview. So I knew he was capable of outrageous personal behavior, let alone the sort of private stuff that he's accused of. So I know I had a lot to work with and I had hours and hours and hours of footage to sort of help build this guy."
The interview also features two new clips of the film, including a scene where Lowe as Peterson sits in a police car with his colleague as they watch Peterson's wife Stacy, portrayed by Kaley Cuoco, mowing the lawn in a bikini top and jean cut-offs.
"Look at Stacy, she's like a flower, you know, in bloom and, you know, putting her scent out everywhere and don't tell me that you can't smell it," Lowe as Peterson says, before threatening his colleague to "stay away from my wife."
Speaking on "Good Morning America" Wednesday, Lowe said the role was "about as far on the end of my range as I can probably go."
(Scroll down to watch more highlights from Lowe's "GMA" interview.)
The real-life Peterson has been in prison since May 2009 after he was charged with murder in the drowning death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. His fourth wife, Stacy, was last seen in 2007 and is, according to Illinois State Police, "missing and presumed dead" -- a statement which Peterson reportedly believes he deserves an apology for.
Peterson's representatives initially issued a "cease and desist" letter with the hope of stopping the film's production last year, but appear to have warmed up a bit to the film since then. Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky reportedly played the Lifetime film's 30-second preview for his client over the phone and Peterson laughed and called it "hilarious."
Still, Brodsky noted to the Chicago Tribune that, when a jury is selected for Peterson's still-upcoming, long-delayed trial, the defense will likely block anyone who has seen the film from serving as jurors.