hane West was born in 1978 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He began to pursue an acting career at the age of fifteen, gaining bit parts on various television shows, but it was not until 1999 when West appeared in ABC's "Once and Again" that he got his major breakthrough. Aside from catapulting to teen heart-throb status with the success of the show, West has made his mark on the screen within such films as Liberty Heights, Whatever It Takes, and A Walk to Remember. His next major role is as Detective Tom Sawyer in The League of Extraordinary GentlemenAside from acting, West continues the musical traditions of his family (both parents were musicians when he was young) with his band, Average Jo, for which he writes and plays guitar.