You can probably remember Shane West from a few different productions since he has appeared quite often in TV shows and has been a part of several movies that did either okay or flopped horribly and got press for that reason. Lately though it doesn’t seem like he’s been doing a whole lot and, sad to say, he’s landed on those dreaded “Why Hollywood won’t cast” lists. The problem with those lists is that they seem to imply that Hollywood won’t ever take a chance on those actors ever again, but the truth is that they’re either on hiatus of some sort or are simply lying low because they need a break. There are other reasons of course and there are those actors that are simply too difficult to work with and don’t tend to get mentioned when parts are being handed out. But for all intents and purposes Shane West is not one of them. He’s had his roles in movies and TV in the last few years and to date and despite the fact that he hasn’t been as active and his parts haven’t been quite as noticeable he’s still very much on the scene.
If you can recall a few times in his career such as the clips below you’ll realize that he’s not so easy to forget.
Ocean’s 11
It’s hard to imagine anyone could be this bad at the game of poker but then again if a person doesn’t have time for such pursuits then it might be feasible. But this scene did pull together a few of the more famous names that earned their fame on TV and in movies and Shane West was one of them. Playing opposite such cinematic titans as George Clooney and Brad Pitt however the bunch of players at the table looked a little bit outclassed and even outmatched when it came to their acting skills. It might have been what was written in the script but all of, including Shane, appeared just a little intimidated by the two main characters in this scene and it was an effect that was kind of humbling really.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
You might have had to look twice under the mop top to see Shane’s recognizable features but the point of this role was just about as whimsical as the rest of the movie. Outwardly the film was a box office success since it more than doubled its production cost. But there were a lot of critics that went on to call this one of the worst movies ever made as it simply used the old legends in a way they’d never been meant for. With all due respect to those that would say such a thing, that’s what makes a legend great, you can tell it any different way you want and it’s up to the fans to decide whether they like it or not. The whole idea is that a legend is a malleable fiction that doesn’t have to conform to anything, it just needs to be entertaining to someone.
Salem seems to have started off with a very big deal of hype but didn’t go much further than this. In fact it seems safe to say that if you mentioned it to the casual TV viewer they might not know which show you’re talking about. Fans obviously would point out that the show is gripping and thrilling in its own way and that’s all well and good. But as far as Shane’s reputation goes this show doesn’t seem to be making any headway in getting him any further roles in TV or in film. The problem with it is that critics tend to lift a person up or drag them down, while the best critics will do both at the same time, stating what a person needs to work on and what they do well. One major issue with critics of film and TV is that their personal biases do tend to get in the way quite often and while this is their right, it’s also detrimental to the process as a whole.
Shane West hasn’t up and gone away, nor has he been extraordinarily busy as of late. This isn’t a huge deal to be honest but it’s something that fans might be wondering about and might actually want to invest some time in. It could be that he’s looking for a way to surge back into his career and surprise a lot of people or it could be that he’s trying to find new interests to occupy his time. The whole point of it is that he’s obviously been devoting time to something else and hasn’t been seen as prominently as some people might like. Celebrities are allowed to take some time to themselves too remember.
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