shane west


biography

Early life
Career
Trivia
Quotes
Links

Early life

West was born born June 10, 1978, as Shannon Bruce Westgarth Snaith in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Catherine, a lawyer, and Don, a drugstore manager. He has two sisters, Simone and Marli Ann. He began to pursue an acting career at the age of fifteen, gaining bit parts on various television shows, but it was not until 1999 when West appeared in ABC's "Once and Again" that he got his major breakthrough.

Career

West's first major role was in a 1999 television series, "Once and Again", playing Eli Sammler.

He also co-starred in the teen comedies "Whatever It Takes" (2000) and "Get Over It" (2001). West was subsequently cast opposite singer/actress Mandy Moore in 2002's "A Walk to Remember", which was a box office success, grossing $41 million in the United States. He also was in the Mandy Moore music video Cry.

In 2003, West appeared in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and in 2004, he joined the cast of NBC's long running medical television series, ER as resident Ray Barnett. West then left at the end of the 2007 season for "Supreme Courtships", but the series was not picked up by the Fox Network.

He recently starred in the independent film "What We Do Is Secret", playing Darby Crash, a member of the 1970s punk band "The Germs". The film is currently in theaters. Members of the band were impressed by West's performance and re-formed the band with West taking the deceased Crash's place.

West has also fronted an original band, "Jonny Was", who have frequented the LA scene. In West's absence the remaining members of the group have formed the dance rock quintet Lunar Fiction. But a Jonny Was reunion may still be on the horizon.

West has also recently completed filming three movies; "The Stone House", "The Gift" and "The Lodger". He is due to start filming "Silver Cord" with Val Kilmer in September 2008.

He recently confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he will return to ER for a few episodes in the upcoming final season.

Source

Trivia

facts

Color: green.
Food: pepperoni pizza.
Biggest inspiration: Bill Paxton.
Subject in school: history.
Band: The Clash.
Actress: Angelina Jolie.
Movie: Scarface.
TV Show: the X-Files.
Alcoholic beverages: Jack Daniels Whiskey mixed with Coca-Cola.
Biggest fears: failure and sharks.
Pets: a dog named Duck.
Guilty pleasure: listening to The Goo Goo Dolls.
Shane is Roman Catholic.
Shane says that if he could choose one superpower, it would be the power of intangibility - the ability to move through things like walls.

career

In 1997, Shane appeared in the cult hit, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in the season two episode "Go Fish".
In 1998, Shane made his Los Angeles stage debut, starring as Angel in the Mark Taper Forum production of The Cider House Rules.
Shane West apperared in the movie "A Time For Dancing" with his "A Walk To Remember" costar, Peter Coyote.
Shane sang on "Once and Again", as Eli in episode 3 of Season 2, "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down".
Won The Young Hollywood Award in 2002 for Male Superstar of Tomorrow.
In 2003 Shane wrote the song "Billy Jean is MIA" for "Bringing Down the House".
Won a Teen Choice award for "A Walk To Remember" for Film Choice Chemistry, shared with actress/singer Mandy Moore.
Has a song on the soundtrack of A Walk to Remember (2002) with "Average Jo".
Shane appeared in Mandy Moore's video, "Cry".
He was so in love with the 1968 Camaro drove in "A Walk to Remember" (2002) that he bought it for $5000.
At the end of "A Walk to Remember" (2002), his character had gone off to and was accepted to medical school. Two years later, he played a doctor on "ER" (1994).
He was nearly cast as John Connor in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (2003). The role went to Nick Stahl instead.
Shane almost re-teamed with "A Walk to Remember" co-star Mandy Moore on the film "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton". Both West and Moore we're up for the two romantic leads, but the studio didn't like the idea of pairing the duo again so soon.
Shane had a small appearance in the movie "Ocean's Eleven". He is in a scene playing poker at the beginning of the movie.
Shane filmed a pilot for the new Fox series, "Supreme Courtships", in which he played a character named Tony, but it wasn't picked up by the Fox Network.
Shane stars with J.P.Manoux in both "ER" and "What We Do Is Secret".
The members of "The Germs" were so impressed with his performance as Darby Crash for the biopic "What We Do is Secret", that they reformed the band with Shane as their new lead singer.
He dedicated a song to the late actor Jonathan Brandis of "SeaQuest DSV" (1993) fame.

personal

Attended Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies.
Shane's father's and mother are Don & Catherine West. Both of Shane's parents were musicians when he was young. His mother was a member of the first all-female band in Louisiana. His dad's band opened for Blondie. He has two sisters, Simone and his half sister Marli Ann is less than a year old.
Shane's first kiss was in the fourth grade.
Got into acting when he was forced to take Drama class in high school because he needed one more credit to graduate.
Shane has a tattoo on his chest saying Satori, wich means enlightenment.
Shane has a celtic insignia tattoo between his shoulder blades.
Shane rang in his 27th birthday at the popular L.A. hot spot, The Sunset Room.
Dated Rachael Leigh Cook and CC Sheffield.
Was in a band called "Jonny Was", formerly known as "Average Jo". "Jonny Was" performed in clubs in LA and the OC.
Shane's most prized posession is his "History Of Punk" book signed by Steve Jones from the "Sex Pistols".
People think of Shane as the 'bad' boy, but deep down, his friends say he is really, very nice.
Shane once had a huge crush on actress Courtney Cox-Arquette. He even forced his dad to take him to see "Masters Of The Universe" just so he could see her.
Shane is a video game junkie. He loves to play on his N64.

Source I | Source II

Quotes

career

At the same time, reading an action script... It makes me wonder. Was "The Matrix" a good script? I don't know.
Because "A Walk To Remember" had come out and it had made money and I got a lot of congratulations at that time as it happens out there.
(About Mandy Moore) She's a total doll and she's very easygoing and willing to learn anything.
Because I could take this as an opportunity to create something that I pretty much guarantee nobody else was going to create in film.
But I understand where the pop music industry comes from because with that, that helps things be more radio playable. To me, the 90's signaled the end of glam rock, the beginning of gangsta rap, and hopefully the beginning and end of boy bands.
But it's cool to be noticed for the smallest part of that.
But, it is hard too, because I want to do another action film. Believe it or not, it was fun.
Captain Nemo's car, which just looks amazing... we always thought it made the Batmobile look kind of silly because this thing was just extraordinary - no pun intended.
(On Co-star Connery) He's a guy's guy, so it pretty much became like the impressions - don't imitate Sean Connery's voice, and things like that. We were all kind of doing it towards the end of the film, anyway, and he was cool with it.
(On Learning to Shoot for "League of Extrodanary Gentlemen") I basically went in a little early to Prague and on the days that we were shooting and I wasn't involved, I learned how to use two six shooters and a rifle, a Winchester rifle. I found out some really cool ways to swing around the Winchester. I had never really fired guns before, so this was all very new to me.
(On Being asked if he is more like Eli or Landon) I didn't have abandonment issues but he's a little bit more like me because Eli is a little bit more self-destructive and I'm not exactly that way.
I'm 25, but I was a kid on the set. But everybody was really great. I was very fortunate to book the films that I did so I can try to get out of that, because you don't want to become stuck.
I'm going to do my best to do both and die of an ulcer at age 30.
I'm not giving up acting, I'm definitely not going to stop.
It's eight days per show. I could work two days in an episode and the rest of those days, I'm practicing or playing a gig.
My character is just going down and down, and something big is going to happen that's going to bring us all back up.
We are meeting with Sony, and we have a couple of other labels that suddenly have interest and that's really great because none of them have actually heard our stuff.
What I got out of it was a great experience working with great people and it becoming a tremendous - basically - a family at the end that none of us wanted to leave.
When what's around you - such as scripts, or like me being on the show and playing 18, now me doing this film playing 18 - it's kind of been what's been there for me.

personal

I graduated in 1996.
(On girls) The first thing I notice is their eyes and smile. I'm not a big make-up fan; I like them to be natural.
(On moving when he was younger) My sister and I were the only white people in school. It was the nicest group of kids I've ever run into.
High school was mainly me asking the counselors and teachers if I could leave to audition, but not booking anything.
In high school my nickname was 'hopeless romantic'. If I was interested in a girl, I did a lot of lovey-dovey things like writing poems. I'm still like that deep down, but it's hard to find someone who I can be that way with.
Girls started noticing me a little bit more in senior year, and junior year, and that was weird.
I met some friends in the end of 10th, beginning of 11th, who were in the popular group so I finished off high school in that group and got to see both sides.
(on how he became popular): This popular junior girl got a crush on me at the end of tenth grade. Then things changed. I ended up being in the popular group, but as soon as summer hit, I realized that it was the wrong crowd for me.
By my senior year in high school, I was friends with every group.
I used to comb my hair back and do stupid stuff.
I sing and play the guitar.
I usually think in terms of music.
While watching the New Orleans Saints (on television), I got angry and punched my bed, and then my remote control flew up and hit me in the head. My girlfriend didn't stop laughing for an hour.
I'm very cynical myself.
I've always been a big fan of Bill Paxton, and I met him at the "American Pie" premiere.
I've never had a day job. I've been very fortunate.
Right now, my favorite game is "Resident Evil 2".
Sexy is kind of like an aura around someone. To me, doesn't have anything to do with beautiful. It has everything to do with how one speaks, how someone holds themselves, their smile, and how they treat people.
(on Character Eli) So having that background and doing three years of a divorced family, it wasn't hard, it was more like therapy.
To be honest, what I'd be more passionate about at this second would be music simply because I'm doing what I love which is acting right now.
(on his astro-attitude) Since I'm a Gemini, I'm kinda schizo, but I'm fun and outgoing. I'm always the one who's trying to get everybody to feel OK. You know, 'Do you need anything?' I'm a good host.
(When asked if he believes in love at first sight): I don't know. It's hard to explain, but the only time I've ever been in love, I felt it in less than a week and still feel like it was true even to this day. But then other times that I thought I was in love, I knew that I ended up not being in love, but was more in love with the idea of being in love.

Source I | Source II

Links

TV.com
IMDB
Jonny Was Official
Jonny Was MySpace
Shane's Real Fans