Shane West

Shane West
West at the 2015 Wondercon
Born	Shannon Bruce Snaith (1978-06-10) June 10, 1978 (age 38) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Residence	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Shannon Snaith, Shane Wrestler
Occupation	Actor, musician, songwriter, producer, writer
Years active	1995–present
Home town	Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.

Shane West (born Shannon Bruce Snaith; June 10, 1978) is an American actor, punk rock musician 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 and Michael Bishop in The CW spy drama Nikita. He also starred in the WGN adventure/historical/fantasy drama Salem as John Alden.

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

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 bands. His mother is of Cajun French descent and his father was born in Jamaica, of British and Portuguese 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 revealed: "I always thought I would be doing music rather than acting."