Shane West

About

Shannon Bruce Snaith (born June 10, 1978), better known as Shane West, is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He is known for his portrayal of Eli Sammler in the ABC family drama Once and Again, Landon Carter in A Walk to Remember, Dr. Ray Barnett in the NBC medical drama ER, Michael Bishop in The CW spy drama Nikita and in the WGN fantasy adventure historical drama Salem as John Alden. West received critical acclaim for his performance portraying Darby Crash in the biopic What We Do Is Secret.
As well as acting, West has performed with punk rock bands the Germs, Jonny Was, and the Twilight Creeps.

West was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Leah Catherine (née Launey), a lawyer, and Don Snaith, a drugstore owner. Both his parents were musicians and had their own punk rock bands. His mother is of Cajun French descent. His father was born in Jamaica, of English and Portuguese-Jewish origin. 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. Influenced by his parents, he grew up listening to the Clash, the Jam, Blondie, Elvis Costello, and the Kinks. He said, “I…