Photo by:
Q: How did you react when you read the script. Did you cry?
West: No, I didn’t really cry until we started actually working and we had to do some of those [sad] scenes. But I liked the script, it was very well written. Nicholas Sparks’ book was very well written. Landon Carter, for me, just had so many different levels. He changes from this huge bad boy to a loving guy at the end. For an actor, there was a ton to sink your teeth in.
Q: Was it challenging to act opposite Mandy Moore, this being her first movie?
West: Well, I wouldn’t say it was challenging. This being her first movie, she was a little nervous coming in, but she’s a really cool girl. We got along very well, and suddenly I felt like a veteran. I’ve only been in the business for about five years. But she had such an open warm personality that kinda shines on the screen I think, and the only thing I helped her with was where to stop, blocking, and little things like that. I usually joked around to make her feel comfortable.
Q: If you were in Landon’s position, could you see yourself falling in love with someone like Jamie?
West: Yeah, definitely. It makes sense. Landon’s just an angry, confused man; he comes from a divorced family, he has abandonment issues from his father who’s not around, he’s being raised by his mom, and he’s in a small town in the South. Even though he is in the popular clique, he doesn’t know what he’s going to be doing with his life. This isn’t really him; it’s kind of like a facade. He’s doing this to survive. Jamie, Mandy Moore’s character, is the only character in the script that really sticks to her own beliefs. Everyone else kinda changes around her. So when he finds this girl and she shows him who she is, he falls head over heels. I can see that easily happening for somebody like him.
Q: Which did you like better, the movie script or the novel?
West: I really didn’t have a preference. I think the novel is exceptional–it was done in the fifties, though. In the end there was a lot of differences to make the two really not comparable, I think. The novel was a little more religious, but written very well. The characters are very well-defined. The movie is more of Hollywood’s take on it. We did our best to make it just as interesting.
Q: Which aspect of Landon’s personality most closely relates to yourself?
West: I think the romantic side of him. There are two: the rebellious and the romantic sides. I think I’ve always been looked at as somebody who’s darker and more like the rebel or the bad guy. People who get to know me, especially when I’ve been in relationships, know I’m pretty much a softie when it comes down to it, if I decide to show them that side.
Q: If you didn’t go into acting, what career path do you think you would’ve chosen?
West: Probably music. I’m just as serious about music as I am about acting, probably a little more at this point because I want to get it off the ground. I would probably be in the music industry.
Shane West is currently the lead singer in a band whose song “So What Does It All Mean?” appears on the movie soundtrack under the names West, Gould & Fitzgerald (they are still searching for a band name).
Q: What would you want to tell college students about the film?
West: First of all, I don’t think it’s limited to girls. It is a love story, but I feel that there’s something in there for everyone. I think a lot of guys might be able to understand where Landon Carter’s coming from. I think it’s got a positive message: to be yourself.
