Playing the hero of the piece isn't necessarily the best role to land in an action movie according to Rob Lowe, who takes on the role of the vicious Reece Tenneson in his new movie 'Monster Trucks'. He thinks that you can have a lot more fun when you get to be real nasty. 

Rob LoweRob Lowe stars in 'Monster Trucks'

Rob admits that while it was 'a challenge', he had a lot of fun taking on the role of the main bad guy in the Chris Wedge-directed 'Monster Trucks'; he's a character who threatens to stand in the way of high school protagonist Tripp Coley (played by Lucas Till) and his massive, slimy, unusual new pet nicknamed Creech who lives in his homemade truck.

'I always find in hero movies that sometimes the really fun part is the villain and I'm having a blast playing Tenneson', said Rob. 'The character's memorable, it's very well written, he's a guy you love to hate and sometimes those are the best roles.'

Watch the trailer for 'Monster Trucks' here


 

The actor has played few unsavoury characters in the past - save for the likes of 'Austin Powers' and 'The Invention of Lying' - but he'll no doubt use this experience to embrace his mean side a little more in future villain roles. 

'They have to be bad, that's the job, I'm the bad guy', he continues. 'But you also want them to be funny, memorable, a little over-the-top, a little outrageous but totally believable.'

More: 'Monster Trucks' was a dream come true for Lucas Till

Rob Lowe is currently starring in hospital drama 'Code Black' with Marcia Gay Harden, and he also voices Simba in the animated TV series 'The Lion Guard'. He has completed filming on two movies; Jay Chandrasekhar's crime comedy 'Super Troopers' which also stars Brian Cox, and Ken Marino's 'How to Be a Latin Lover' co-starring Salma Hayek and Eugenio Derbez.

'Monster Trucks' is out in theatres now.