Shane West

Shannon Bruce Snaith[1][2] (born June 10, 1978), better known as Shane West, is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. West is known for his portrayal of Eli Sammler in the ABC family drama Once and Again, Landon Carter in A Walk to Remember, Darby Crash in What We Do Is Secret, Dr. Ray Barnett in the NBC medical drama ER, Michael Bishop in The CW spy drama Nikita and Bane in the Fox superhero drama Gotham. He also starred in the WGN fantasy adventure historical drama Salem as John Alden.

Shane West
West at the 2015 Wondercon
Born	Shannon Bruce Snaith June 10, 1978 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, singer, songwriter
Years active	1995–present
Musical career
Genres	Punk rock
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Germs, Jonny Was, Twilight Creeps

As well as acting, West has performed with punk rock band the Germs, Jonny Was, and the Twilight Creeps.

Early life

West was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Leah Catherine (née Launey), a lawyer, and Don Snaith, a drugstore owner.[3][4] Both his parents were musicians and had their own punk bands.[5] His mother is of Cajun French descent and his father was born in Jamaica, of British and Portuguese origin.[6][7] He is the eldest of three children with a sister Simone and a half-sister Marli Ann. His parents divorced in 1982 when he was four years old.[8] Influenced by his parents, he grew up listening to the Clash, the Jam, Blondie, Elvis Costello, and the Kinks.[5] He said: "I always thought I would be doing music rather than acting."[5]

At the age of ten, West and his sister Simone moved to Compton, California with their mother because she was looking for a better job. They later moved to Norwalk, California.[8][9] Embarrassed by his feminine first name, West went by his middle name Bruce but changed his name to Shane West in High school when he took up acting.[10] He struggled for two years and lived at his manager's house,[9][11] before making his acting debut in 1995, appearing in the CBS drama Picket Fences in the season 4, episode 6 "Heart of Saturday Night", where he played Dave Lattimore.

Career

Acting

West at the 2010 CBS Summer Press Tour Party

In 1998, West guest-starred in several television series including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and played Mark Tapper in the stage production of The Cider House Rules.[12] He landed his first major role in 1999 in the ABC family drama Once and Again, playing Eli Sammler for three seasons. West's feature film debut was in Liberty Heights, a film about a Jewish family in Baltimore, directed by Barry Levinson. He also co-starred in teen comedies Whatever It Takes (2000) and Get Over It (2001).

West was cast as Landon Carter opposite singer and actress Mandy Moore in 2002's adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel A Walk to Remember. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times found him "quietly convincing".[13] His performance in the film earned him a Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry with Moore. He also appeared in the Mandy Moore music video "Cry". That year, West won the Young Hollywood Award Male Superstar of Tomorrow.

In 2003, West starred as an adult version of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen alongside Sean Connery. A year later, he joined the cast of the NBC medical drama, ER in the eleventh-season premiere, playing resident Ray Barnett. In May 2007, West left ER at the end of the thirteenth season after winning a role in Supreme Courtships,[14] but the series was not picked up by the Fox Network. In October 2008, West returned to ER for three episodes during its fifteenth and final season.[15]

During hiatus between seasons of ER, West worked on shooting What We Do Is Secret, an independent film, which premiered at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival after much delay.[16][17] West helped to finance it.[18][19] In the film, he portrays Darby Crash, a member of the 1970s punk band the Germs. Members of the band were so impressed by West's performance that they re-formed the band with West taking the deceased Crash's place. West received positive reviews for his portrayal in the movie; the San Francisco Chronicle stated that he is the one who "lifts the entire film to a whole other level".[20] Similarly, The Seattle Times wrote that his impersonation was "worth saluting" while TV Guide called it "pretty impressive".[21][22] In 2008, he received the Rising Star Award in Philadelphia Film Festival for his work in What We Do is Secret.[23][24]

West starred as Michael Bishop in The CW spy drama Nikita from 2010 to 2013. In 2014, he began starring in the WGN America adventure/historical/fantasy drama Salem as John Alden for three seasons before the show ended in 2017.

In 2018, West was cast as Eduardo Dorrance in the fifth and final season of Gotham.[25] In November 2018, it was revealed that West will portray the role of Billy Millikin in upcoming feature film Gossamer Folds.[26] In November 2019 it was announced that West will star in the upcoming sci-fi thriller No Running.[27]

Music

West (kneeling) performing with the Germs in 2009

West was the lead singer of punk rock band Jonny Was[28] for "seven or eight years".[5] The band was originally known as Average Joe but had to change its name for legal reasons.[29] The band contributed to the A Walk to Remember soundtrack, appearing under the names "West, Gould, and Fitzgerald" because they had not yet decided on a new name.[29] West described their style as "a pop-punk-type band, more Green Day-ish".[5]

In November 2005, while What We Do Is Secret was still in production, it was announced that West would be fronting the Germs on tour.[30] He performed with the band for nearly five years, doing an American tour (including the 2006 Warped Tour) and a European Tour.[31][32] He described the experience as "more exciting" than acting.[33] However, after booking a leading role in Nikita, West had less time to play with the band. His last performance was in December 2009.[31]

In 2015, West reunited with some of his old bandmates from Jonny Was to form a new band called the Twilight Creeps. In October 2016, they released their debut album.[34] In January 2019, they announced they are releasing their second album on February 1.[35][36] In December of 2020, the Twilight Creeps released their first Christmas song entitled "Poison in the Mistletoe".[37]

Personal life

West is a sports enthusiast and avid supporter of the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers Football Team. In 2019, West lent his voice to some of the teams pre-season videos.[38] He lived in Toronto, Canada for six years during the filming of the series Nikita.[39]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	A Time for Dancing	Paul, the DJ
2000	Whatever It Takes	Ryan Woodman
2000	Dracula 2000	JT
2001	Get Over It!	Bentley "Striker" Scrumfeld
2001	Ocean's Eleven	Himself
2002	A Walk to Remember	Landon Carter
2003	The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen	Tom Sawyer
2006	The Elder Son	Bo
2007	What We Do Is Secret	Darby Crash
2009	The Lodger	Street Wilkenson
2009	Red Sands	Spc. Jeff Keller	Also co-producer
2009	Echelon Conspiracy	Max Peterson
2010	The Presence	Ghost
2014	Red Sky	Tom Craig
2016	Here Alone	Jason
2017	Awakening the Zodiac	Mick Branson
2019	Gossamer Folds	Billy Millikin	[40][41]
TBA	Escape the Field
TBA	The Chariot		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Picket Fences	Dave Lattimore	Episode: "Heart of Saturday Night"
	California Dreams	Doug	Episode: "Community Service"
1996	The Crew	Store Manager	Episode: "Retail Slut"
1996	Boy Meets World	Nick	Episode: "A Kiss Is More Than a Kiss"
1997	Get a Clue	Chris Theodorakis	Television
1997	Mr. Rhodes	Mick	Episode: "The Valentine Show"
1997	Meego	Guy with Big Hat	Episode: "Morality Bites"
1997	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Sean	Episode: "Go Fish"
1997	Sliders	Kirk	Episode: "California Reich"
1997	To Have & to Hold	Mitch Maloney	Episode: "Tangled Up in You"
1999–2002	Once and Again	Eli Sammler	Main role
2004–2009	ER	Dr. Ray Barnett	Main role
2007	Supreme Courtships	N/A	Unsold TV pilot
2010	The Search for El Dorado	Jack Wilder	2 episodes
2010–2013	Nikita	Michael	Main role
2014–2017	Salem	John Alden	Main role
2019	Gotham	Eduardo Dorrance / Bane	4 episodes

Music videos

Year	Artist	Title	Role
2001	Mandy Moore	"Cry"	Boyfriend
2001	Mandy Moore	"Only Hope"	Boyfriend
2001	Mandy Moore	"Someday We'll Know"	Boyfriend

Awards

Year	Association	Category	Nominated Work	Result
2002	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Chemistry: Film	A Walk to Remember	Won
		Choice TV Actor: Drama	Once and Again	Nominated
	Young Hollywood Awards	Male Superstar of Tomorrow	Himself	Won
2003	Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Awards	Best Male Performance	The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen	Nominated
2008	Philadelphia Film Festival	Rising Star Award	What We Do Is Secret	Won
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Action	Nikita	Won
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Action	Nikita	Nominated
2013	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor: Action	Nikita	Nominated

References

1. "TV Guide".
2. Weisbard, Eric. Listen again: a momentary history of pop music Experience Music Project
3. Shane West - Biography, Yahoo! Movies
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Shane West on Joining the Germs and "What We Do Is Secret"". Rolling Stone. August 6, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
6. Nguyen, Hanh (August 26, 2010). "'Nikita' set visit: Shane West tells tattoo stories, needs yoga". Zap2it. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
7. Radloff, Jessica. "Ashley Madekwe and Shane West: What It's Really Like Living Life in the Spotlight". Glamour.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
8. "'Go West!'". Teen People. April 2003. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
9. Scharf, Lindzi. "shane west (interview from 2002)". Lindzi.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
10. "Glamour".
11. Hirschberg, Lynn (September 5, 1999). "Desperate to Seem 16". The New York Times. p. 7. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
12. "The Cider House Rules". Variety. June 12, 1998. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
13. Ebert, Roger (January 25, 2002). "A Walk to Remember". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
14. Weisman, Jon (March 14, 2007). "'Nine' actors head to pilots". Variety. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
15. Ausiello, Michael (July 31, 2008). "Exclusive: Shane West's 'ER' Comeback a 'Double Surprise'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 6, 2008.
16. Radish, Christina (September 7, 2010). "Shane West Exclusive Interview NIKITA". Collider.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
17. Schruers, Fred (June 22, 2007). "Resurrecting legacy of doomed punker Darby Crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
18. Yao, Laura Yao (August 28, 2008). "After 15 years, his 'Secret' is out". Boston.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
19. Perez, Rodrigo (June 25, 2007). "While You Were Sleeping, Shane West Somehow Got Cast As Darby Crash". The Playlist. Blogspot. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
20. Wiegand, David (August 29, 2008). "Movie review: Germs' toxic 'Secret'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
21. Hartl, John (October 9, 2008). ""What We Do Is Secret": A standout bad-boy performance in conventional punk-and-drugs biopic". Seattle Times. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
22. Fox, Ken. "What We Do Is Secret: Review". TV Guide. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
23. Longsdorf, Amy (April 11, 2008). "Valley tells the story in award-winning documentary Why don't people vote?". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
24. "Shane West receives 2008 Rising Star Award At 17 Philadelphia Film Festival Philadelphia". Contactmusic.com. April 12, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
25. Andreeva, Nellie (September 11, 2018). "'Gotham': Shane West Set For Key Role On Final Season Of Fox's Batman Prequel". Deadline. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
26. Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 15, 2018). "Yeardley Smith's Paperclip Ltd. Sets Transgender Drama 'Gossamer Folds' Starring 'Transparent's Alexandra Grey". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
27. N'Duka, Amanda (November 18, 2019). "Taryn Manning, Shane West, Rutina Wesley & More Star In Sci-Fi Thriller 'No Running' From Defiant Studios". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
28. "Jonny Was | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". Myspace.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
29. Murray, Rebecca; Topel, Fred. "Interview with Shane West from "A Walk to Remember"". About.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
30. "Germs to Tour with Actor West Out Front". Spin. November 17, 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
31. Potts, Kim (September 9, 2010). "Shane West Talks 'Nikita,' Punk Rocking With The Germs and His 'Top Gun'-ish Action Flick". AOL TV. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
32. Charaipotra, Sona (September 9, 2010). "Shane West of 'Nikita' Chats With The Stir". The Stir. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
33. Ratledge, Ingela (May 30, 2012). "A Day Out With Nikita's Shane West". TV Guide. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
34. Twilight Creeps by Twilight Creeps, retrieved January 11, 2019
35. "Twilight Creeps on Instagram: "Hold on to your butts!! Here is the full reveal of our new album "Along Came A Spider"!! We are incredibly honored to have had the…"". Instagram. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
36. "Twilight Creeps on Instagram: "We are so incredibly excited to announce that our 2nd album titled "Along Came a Spider" will be dropping in a few weeks!! Here's a little…"". Instagram. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
37. "Poison Under The Mistletoe".
38. Hagan, Chris. "LSU Football: Hyping up the Tigers". Fox8live.com. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
39. "USA Today".
40. Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 15, 2018). "Yeardley Smith's Paperclip Ltd. Sets Transgender Drama 'Gossamer Folds' Starring 'Transparent's Alexandra Grey". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
41. Desk, BWW News. "Yeardley Smith's Paperclip Ltd and Mill House Motion Pictures Announce "Gossamer Folds" Drama, Begin Principal Photography". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved September 20, 2020.

External links

• Shane West on Twitter
• Shane West at IMDb
• Twilight Creeps