Rob Lowe reveals the 'wake-up call' that sent him to rehab

Rob Lowe has revealed how the death of his grandfather was a "wake-up call" that sent him to rehab.

The Unstable actor, 60, has opened up about staying sober for the past 34 years, admitting it was an "incremental decision" that led him to quit the booze.

"Getting sober was an incremental decision," he told People magazine. "It's baby steps until you're ready. You can't do it until you're really ready."

He recalled one of these "baby steps" was watching Warren Beatty in the movie, Shampoo, saying, "It's a great movie, but at the end, he's a bon vivant, charming playboy left with nothing. It affected me tremendously and (was) the first glimmer of your conscience, your destiny (and) God going, 'Psst, pay attention to this."'

In 1988, a tape of Rob having sex with two other people was released; something he said "definitely changed my life at the time," adding, "In hindsight, I realised it was another step that led me to recovery and re-evaluating my life."

However, his lowest point came when he didn't pick up the phone after his grandfather had a heart attack.

"I remember like it was yesterday: My mom telling me (on the answering machine) to 'pick up, pick up' because my grandpa had had a heart attack. I couldn't deal with it in the state I was in, and I needed to go to sleep to wake up so I could deal with it."

When he finally woke up, he recalled reaching for a bottle of tequila.

"Who doesn't keep a bottle of Cuervo Gold by their bedside table? That was the final wake-up call," he said. "I've been sober ever since."