Shane West Biography

Shane West
Born	Shane West June 10, 1978 (1978-06-10) (age 30) Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Shane West (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his roles on the television series ER and Once and Again and in the film A Walk to Remember. He is currently performing with The Germs and has his own band called Jonny Was, and lives in L.A. His latest film, The Stone House, has just been completed.

Biography

Early life

West was born as Shannon Bruce Westgarth Snaith in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Catherine, a lawyer, and Don, a drugstore manager.¹ He has two sisters,

Career

West's first major role was in a 1999 television series, Once and Again, playing Eli Sammler. West's film debut was in Liberty Heights, director Barry Levinson's film about a Jewish family in Baltimore. 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.² 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 2008.³ He recently confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he will return to ER for a few episodes in the upcoming final season.⁴

Filmography

References

External links

• Shane West at TV.com
• Shane West at the Internet Movie Database
• Shane's band, Jonny Was' Official Website
• Jonny Was' Myspace
• FilmHobbit interview July 2003
• UGO interview July 2003
• Collection of interviews at "Shane West Unofficial"
• Collection of older interviews
• Shane West Interview for SWINDLE Magazine
• Review of What We Do Is Secret at Alternative Film Guide
• Interview with Rodger Grossman Director of What We Do Is Secret at Alternative Film Guide