"Six Who Sizzle"

Shane West may look the part of a heart-throb, but he hasn't had to worry about being typecast as one. Consider his current roles as two vastly dissimilar high schoolers: the social zero with nary a trace of hunk appeal in the big-screen romantic comedy "Whatever It Takes" and the popular - and vulnerable - basketball star on the ABC drama "Once and Again". "I'm happy that in "Liberty Heights", I played the jerk, on the show I play the nice guy who has a learning disability and in the movie I play the nerd," says Shane, who finds inspiration in such chameleons as Johnny Depp and Edward Norton. His new film moves the Baton Rouge native into leading-man territory, and he was daunted. During filming, he says, "I felt as if the whole thing relied on me, and that's tough." But not tough enough to slow this 21 year-old down.__April's TEEN PEOPLE