Shane West

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Shane West (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor and punk rock 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 Snaith in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Catherine, a lawyer, and Don, a drugstore manager. He has two sisters, Simone and Marli Ann. West began to get into acting when he was forced to take acting classes because he was one credit short from graduating. West has mentioned that his high school years consisted of him leaving early for auditions, lowering his GPA. In June 1996 West graduated but did not attended the ceremony due to scheduling conflicts.

Career

West's first major role was in a 1999 television series, Once and Again, playing Eli Sammler. West's film debut was a supporting role in the 1999 film 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. 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 intern/third year resident Ray Barnett. West left at the end of the 2007 season for Supreme Courtships, a series 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 has not yet been released. 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.

Personal life

West has dated actresses Rachael Leigh Cook, Monica Keena, Marla Sokoloff, Dina Meyer, Jenna Dewan, and singer CC Sheffield.

Filmography

1999

Liberty Heights	Ted
2000	Whatever It Takes	Ryan Woodman	-
	A Time for Dancing	Paul
	Dracula 2000	JT
	Ocean's Eleven	Himself
2001	Get Over It!	Bentley 'Striker' Scrumfeld/Demetrius
2002	A Walk to Remember	Landon Carter
2003	The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen	Tom Sawyer
2007	The Optimist	Bo
	What We Do Is Secret	Darby Crash
	The Stone House (2007 film)

References

External links

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Last updated on Friday March 14, 2008 at 00:54:55 PDT (GMT -0700)
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