For his role in NBC's dramedy "You Me And The Apocalypse", actor Rob Lowe undertook some homework of biblical proportions - he read the bible. 

"This was a great excuse to do something that I've been putting off forever which was really, really, really spend some time reading the bible cover to cover", Lowe admits. "You know, I've read bits and pieces of it over the course of my life. But I never really sat down and taken it all in in a sort of scholarly way. So, that was great, a great opportunity to do that."

In the series, which also stars Jenna Fischer and Megan Mullally, Lowe stars as Father Jude Sutton, an unconventional catholic priest with just 34 days to weed out the crazies  - all who come forth claiming to be the second coming - after it's announced that a comet's impact will decimate all life on Earth.

"The minute I read the first Father Jude scene, I knew I was in, " Lowe told Headlines & Global News recently during a conference call to promote the show. "There aren't many scripts that grab you like this in terms of it being very, very dramatic, very, very irreverent and witty all at the same time. The character of Father Jude in particular for me was a standout and certainly nothing like anything I'd ever played before."

The role is a far cry from the narcissistic TV lawyer-turned-real lawyer Dean Sanderson on Fox's "The Grinder", but one Lowe relished. Having never played a priest, he knew he had his work cut out for him given Father Jude's unorthodox work ethic. 

The role also gave Lowe time to reflect on his own mortality and what, with just 34 days left on the planet, he would do with his time.

"I spent a good amount of time thinking about that during the show," Lowe explains. "I've never been to the Rain Forests or whatever, but when really faced with it, I would want to do exactly what I'm doing - which would be work hard, be with my family and live the life I'm living."

"You Me And The Apocalypse" premiers Thursday, 8 p.m. on NBC.

And for more of the interview with Rob Lowe, continue reading below:

Did the show make you reflect on your own life?

It actually made me feel really good and satisfied about - about my life. I'm blessed. And you know it's all good because I don't feel like there's a lot of stuff out there that I would feel like I missed out on if it was all coming to an end.

So with 34 days left to live, you wouldn't just want to party?

I wouldn't want to quit my job if the end of the world was coming. I understand why some would; no one's going to be around to see it. But, I'm not sure I would change much about my life, other than I would make sure that I would get my kids out of school and make them come home so we could all you know be together. But, you know I would keep on trucking.

Having read the Bible cover to cover for the role, did you get anything from it that you didn't know or didn't understand before?

Honestly, every time I do any reading, I'm kind of struck with the same thing really other than, you know, if you're looking for guidance, then obviously you get different things from it depending on what you're looking to have answered. But overall, I'm just always struck with the language. It's so beautiful. I'm also struck with things like how many common phrases we have in our everyday casual vernacular that comes from the bible. You're like, "Oh, that's where that comes from?" I'm not breaking any new ground when I say it's such a work of depth, inspiration and beauty that I'm kind of amazed each time I open it.

If the end were coming, how would Rob Lowe like to be remembered?

Wow. I would like to be thought of as a father first. My two sons are amazing young men. I'm very proud of them. One of them is on "The Grinder" now as a re-occurring actor as he's getting a 4.0 at Stanford. My other is graduating Duke and going to law school. They're great human beings, and that's way more important than anything I've ever done in my career. Different people have different connections to me. Some are recent. Some go back 30 years. I think it would be an incredible legacy to be one of those people that has been in a relationship with an audience their entire lifetime.

You have played everything. Were you looking to play a priest?

There are certain archetypes that an actor should play before they you know move on, you know. Cop, check. Cowboy, check. President, check. Priest, check. So I'm working my way down the list now (laughs).

And you now have two shows on two networks?

It is really exciting. Two completely different characters in two completely different types of shows on two networks at the same time is really, for me, sort of an actor's dream.

Did you have to juggle the two shows?

I'd travel back and forth. I'd do three weeks in Europe on "You, Me And The Apocalypse" then fly back and work on "The Grinder". So to do it - not only to be doing them both at the same time- was a challenge, but also really fun. We finished "Apocalypse" in a time where I could then really do the meat of "The Grinder", which I'm still doing.

Megan Mullally also has a role in "Apocalypse" and is unrecognizable. What did you think of her role?

I didn't recognize her. And I've known Megan since 1984. You know she's a chameleon. She's an amazing actress. When she - when she was on "Will & Grace," people thought that's who she was. When she was on "Parks and Recreation" as Tammy, you know she just inhabits those characters. This is no different; I think even Megan Mullally fans, when they see her in this, at first probably won't even realize it's her.

If you could bring out one message to fans and viewers of the show, what message would that be?

I would describe the show to the fans as a boundary pushing comedy/drama that presents the end of the world in a way that you've never seen before- through extraordinary drawn and interesting characters with plot twists that you will absolutely never see coming.