'Good Guy' or 'Bad Boy'? Shane West Reacts (Hilariously) to His 2003 Teen PEOPLE Cover with This Star
Here's a look back at the "A Walk to Remember" star's 2003 cover and the story that highlighted the "good" and "bad" sides of the then-24-year-old
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Shane WestShane West is looking back on his days as a teen heartthrob.
The actor, who starred in 2002’s A Walk to Remember, took to Instagram recently to share his April 2003 cover of Teen PEOPLE, on which he posed alongside the headline “Good Guys vs. Bad Boys.”
“Holy crap, remember these? ???? (oh hi, Milo),” West, 45, wrote in the caption, shouting out Milo Ventimiglia, who was also featured on the cover. “My friend sent me this to me the other day and my god did it bring up memories…..”
He continued reminiscing about the early aughts, writing, “Magazines, DVDs, Game Cube, Play Station 2, IPods ruling the world, people realizing they had Text Messaging on their phones, MySpace was around the corner, and NO social media ?? the good ole days haha.”
Bryan Greenberg, who starred as the lovable Jake Jagielski on One Tree Hill from 2003 to 2006, chimed in to the comments, joking, “I still have this on my bedroom wall.”
For his 2003 cover story, West, who was 24 at the time, arrived at the photo shoot with a mohawk, though after the stylist was done with him, he had a buzz cut. “It’s cool,” he said of the new look.
The article broke down “Good Shane” vs. “Bad Shane,” highlighting qualities that might fall in line with each category.
In the “good” section, West talked about moving from Baton Rouge to L.A. at the age of 10 with his mom and sister, and enlisting the company of two imaginary friends after the move.
Related: A Comprehensive List of the Dreamiest High School Heartthrobs from Your Favorite Teen Movies
"I had two invisible friends, Ned and Jack, named after characters in the book Little Men,” he said at the time. “But I never brought them with me to school. That would not have been wise."
West said in high school, when it came to girls, “I’d get so nervous” — also the “good" category.
When it came to his “bad” side, Teen PEOPLE highlighted his taste music, which included punk and graduated to heavy metal. He also opened up about his willingness to strip down on camera, to which he explained, "I'll show my butt [in a movie] if I have to. I have an OK butt."
As far as full-frontal nudity, he said: "I'll have to see how much money I could get for that."
Teen PEOPLE also reported that the actor loved the 1967 Camaro his character drove in A Walk to Remember so much that he bought it for $5,000.
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West played Landon Carter opposite Mandy Moore’s Jamie in the 2002 film based on Nicholas Sparks’ book of the same name. While the two had obvious chemistry onscreen as they played out the characters’ heartbreaking love story, West has previously opened up about their connection off camera too.
"I think we both had a little bit of a crush, but then we were just there for each other in the most honest and purest of ways," he told Vulture in 2021. "That sounds incredibly corny but is true and rare."
Their friendship lasted for years to come and in 2019 when it was time for Moore to receive her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, West was on deck to give his former costar a sweet tribute.
“Not only was this film a wonderful experience in every way, but it also gave me the chance to fall for this fantastic woman,” West shared during his speech as he turned toward Moore, who was standing to his side. “Mandy, you are an absolute gem. Your smile is ridiculous, seriously it’s ridiculous, it lights up a room when you walk in. Your energy is irresistible and your heart is second to none.”
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