Runners Up
Third Place - Kevin Richardson (Backstreet Boys) - 66 votes
Second Place - Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys) - 77 votes
July 2002 Hottie of the Month
Shane West (Once and Again) - 83 votes
Shane West: The Life, The Actor, The Role of a Lifetime
Shannon Bruce West was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on June 10, 1978. His passion for acting began when he was fifteen-years-old. "Acting became an obsession," Shane says, recollecting his early years. He spent much of his years contemplating whether acting would be a wise path to take, and in 1995, he made his decision and moved to Los Angeles, California. Upon moving to LA, Shannon changed his name to "Shane". He found much success on dramatic television, landing a starring role on ABC's Once and Again (1999) as Eli Sammler after appearing in the Showtime original movie The Westing Game (1997). A more contemporary rendition of the Cyrano de Bergerac story, Whatever it Takes (2000), featured a book-smart West. He appeared in Dracula in 2000, and made a cameo in the 2001 re-make of Ocean's Eleven.
Shane got much publicity when he signed onto the role portraying Landon Carter in the Nicholas Sparks based novel, A Walk to Remember. Mandy Moore played his love interest, Jamie Sullivan. The role brought Shane to teen stardom. Shane is struggling to get away from teen roles, however. "I always end up playing a high school boy...it gets annoying." Shane says, frustrated with Hollywood's outlook on him.
The Rock Star
Shane West is not only an actor, but a singer. He spends a huge chunk of his time writing songs for his band, Jonny Was. The band was not always called Jonny Was, however. It was once upon a time called "Average Jo", named by Shane West. "It sounded cool." Shane says about the name 'Average Jo.' Due to legal reasons, the band had to rename itself and Jonny Was it was. The band was featured on A Walk to Remember soundtrack, one of their biggest exposures to date. The soundtrack did extremely well on Billboard charts, meaning more fans for Jonny Was.
What's Next?
Shane is definitely one actor to watch. (And I don't mean that in a 'omg he's gorgeous' way either.) His choices of guest appearances and movie roles varies and we can't wait to see what happens next. But you can count on one thing: He definitely WON'T do another teen movie.
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