INTERVIEWS

West, young man
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SHANE WEST has a lot of experience as a teenager. On TV, he's hunky Eli, the teen son in ABC's "Once and Again." Next week, in the movie "A Walk to Remember," the 23-year-old actor plays a high school jock who falls for a plain Jane (de-glammed pop star Mandy Moore), then tries to hide it from his too-cool friends. We spoke with him: 

Q: What were you like as a teen?
A: From seventh to 10th grade, I had two friends. In 10th grade, an older girl [a junior] who was popular developed a crush on me, so I was able to join that popular group. 

Q: So love delivered you into the "in" crowd? 
A: My nickname was Hopeless Romantic. But where I naturally fit is by myself. 

Q: How can you tell if someone likes you for just you? 
A: I don't like people who are unfair to others, who might treat my friends differently than me. 

Q: What would people be surprised to know about you?
A: I have three weird knacks: People just open up to me, and animals and kids [gravitate toward] me whether I'm looking at them or not! 

Q: How long can you go on playing a teenager?
A: I have a young face. I¹m not going to be able to suddenly play the love interest to Charlize Theron, even though she¹s only a couple years older than me. 

Q: But you did get to play opposite a pop star! ...You¹re in a band. Why is it called An Average Joe?
A: It's a term I felt fit a pop-punk band who are just a bunch of normal dudes. 

Q: So is the music pop like Mandy's?
A: It's the antithesis. We¹re definitely on the rock side. In fact, my band used to kid me about doing a film with Mandy. 

Q: But wouldn¹t you want her fans and level of fame as a musician?
A: Yeah! And ... I think she did a very good job in the movie.