If you walked into a teenage girl’s bedroom in 2002, chances are you’d spot a Shane West poster on her wall (nestled between Orlando Bloom and Josh Hartnett, most likely).
The actor became an instant noughties heartthrob when he starred opposite Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember – a movie many a teen swooned over during a sleepover party.
It undoubtedly made West a household name, but it wasn’t his breakout role. In fact, he already had a few major credits to his name when it came out.
Read on to find out how West became famous, and what he’s up to now.
READ MORE: What Josh Hartnett is up to now
What movies and TV shows has Shane West been in?
West’s first acting credit came in 1995, with TV roles in Picket Fences and California Dreams.
Through the late ’90s he racked up one-episode appearances in some of the most defining series of the era, including Buffy, Sliders and Boy Meets World.
In 1999, he landed a leading role in family drama series Once and Again, which aired for three years.
West starred as teenager Eli alongside Billy Campbell and Evan Rachel Wood, with the show running until 1992.
His first movie role was in 1997’s The Westing Game, followed by A Time for Dancing and a trifecta of high school movies that sealed his fate as a teen icon: Get Over It, Whatever It Takes and A Walk to Remember.
Get Over It was loosely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and co-starred Kirsten Dunst.
Meanwhile, in Whatever It Takes, West and James Franco played two high schoolers who strike a deal to help each other land the girl of their dreams.
READ MORE: Without these four words, Carmen Electra might’ve never been famous
However, it was A Walk to Remember, an adaptation of Nicolas Sparks’ novel of the same name, that really took his profile to new levels when it hit cinemas in 2002.
West played bad boy Landon Carter, opposite pop star Mandy Moore as the reserved and deeply religious Jamie Sullivan.
The unlikely pair are thrown together when Landon is sentenced to community service, and (spoiler!) ultimately fall in love.
The enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trajectory was catnip to young viewers, making the movie a box office hit.
Moore memorably sang in the film (Only Hope, anyone?), but she wasn’t the only one whose musical talents featured.
West was the lead singer of a punk band at the time, which contributed to the soundtrack.
Interestingly, both of his parents had their own punk bands when he was growing up.
Other films West has appeared in include Ocean’s Eleven, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Presence, Outsiders and Chariot.
Arguably, TV is where he’s really thrived.
In 2004, he joined the cast of medical drama ER as Dr Ray Barnett, a role he played until 2009. West then landed regular TV roles in two shows back to back – in Nikita from 2010-2013, and in Salem from 2014-2017.
His most recent TV role was as Bane in Gotham in 2019.
Did Shane West and Mandy Moore date?
It’s the question A Walk to Remember fans will never quite shake, even 22 years on.
West and Moore’s on-screen chemistry was clear as day, and fans have long wondered if it translated off-screen too.
Sadly, no, the two actors didn’t date. However, speaking to Vulture, West admitted they had crushes on one another during filming.
READ MORE: Mandy Moore’s dating history
“There was chemistry. I think we both had a little bit of a crush, but then we were just there for each other in the most honest and purest of ways,” he said.
“That sounds incredibly corny but is true and rare.”
Moore has credited her “wonderful” co-star with helping her feel comfortable in a major movie role.
“I didn’t know what I was doing and he’d done movies and he was on a critically acclaimed TV show,” she told EW in 2018.
“He had a lot of respect as an actor and I was just the total newbie. I didn’t even know how to hit a mark, I was so fresh-faced and naive.
“I felt incredibly lucky right off the bat that I had someone who was as willing to work with me and who was patient and understanding.”
Why did Shane West change his name?
We might know him as Shane West, but the actor’s birth name is Shannon Bruce Snaith. He decided to change it at age 16, admitting the call was “sort of for protection”.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, fake name! Cool!’ We took Shane from Shannon. We thought about Shannon West, but it was actually taken by a girl,” he told Glamour.
In early high school, West began going as Bruce because he was teased for having a “girl’s name” after his family moved to California.
“Here I’m a Southern boy with long hair and an accent and coming from no money, I wanted to fit in. Bruce West sounded pretty darn masculine,” he said.
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“Basically when I turned 18, if someone called me Shannon, I knew it was my family. If someone called me Bruce, that was only high school.”
Love life
West has dated some high-profile women over the years, including Rachael Leigh Cook and Monica Keena. However, it’s not clear if he’s with anyone now.
Is Shane West on social media?
You can follow West on Instagram at @theshanewest and on X/Twitter as @shanewest.