7th Heaven

Background:

American actor Nathan West has appeared in several TV shows and films since making his onscreen debut in 1994. On the small screen, the former athlete is probably best known for his recurring role on “7th Heaven” (2000-2001, as Johnny). He has also guest starred in the hit shows “ER,” “Chicago Hope,” “Bones” and “Grey's Anatomy.” His film credits include “Bring It On” (2000), “Home Room” (2002), “Miracle” (2004, as Rob McClanahan) and “Forever Strong” (2008, as Quentin).

West has a NHL logo tattooed on his arm, a tattoo of Marvin the Martian on his upper thigh and a sun tattoo on his back. West and his actress wife, Chyler Leigh, have one son and two daughters together.

Hockey

Childhood and Family:

Nathan Luke West was born on September 29, 1978, in Anchorage, Alaska. As a teenager, he was a hockey goaltender for the Junior A Plymouth Whalers in the Ontario Hockey League. He originally planned on playing professionally before eventually switching gears to acting. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue his new dream. Nathan graduated from Service High School in Anchorage, where he was elected prom king.

In 2001, Nathan proposed to his girlfriend, actress Chyler Leigh (born on April 10, 1982), on the set of “Not Another Teen Movie.” The couple married on July 20, 2002, and their first child, Noah Wilde, was born in December 2003. Their daughters, Taelyn Leigh and Anniston Kae, were born in September 2006 and May 2009, respectively. Actor Christopher Khayman Lee (born on March 11, 1978) is Nathan's brother-in-law.

Miracle

Career:

An excellent hockey player himself, 16 year old Nathan West had his first taste in front of the camera when he landed an unaccredited part in the hockey film “D2: The Mighty Ducks” (1994), which was directed by Sam Weisman and starred Emilio Esteves. He later left the sport and began chasing his new found interest in acting. In 1998, West made his television series debut in “The Adventures of A.R.K.” and landed a recurring role on the David E. Kelley created dramatic series “The Practice,” playing James Parrish. In 1999, more television assignments followed and he appeared in “Saving Graces” (as Brendan), “ER” (1 episode, as Justin Casey), “Smart Guy” (1 episode, as Paul), “Chicago Hope” (1 episode, as Robert Devaney) and “Safe Harbor” (1 episode, as Tommy Bullock).

Entering the new millennium, West played Carter in the episode “Absolution” of the Fox short lived comedy series “Get Real” (2000). He then joined the cast of the popular teen drama series “7th Heaven” in season 5 and played Johnny in the episodes “Losers,” “Busted,” “Blind” (all 2000) and “One Hundred” (2001). He returned to the big screen to portray the supporting role of Jan in the cheerleading movie “Bring It On” (2000), which starred Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford and Gabrielle Union. A success at the box office, the film collected over $68 million in the U.S. and Canada and over $22 million internationally, well over its budget of $10 million. West enjoyed another box office hit with the comedy film “Not Another Teen Movie” (2001), where he appeared as an actor. The film starred Chyler Leigh, Chris Evans, Jaime Pressly, Eric Christian Olsen, Eric Jungmann and Mia Kirshner, among others.

In 2002, West played Jackson Wilde in the pilot of the ultimately canceled drama series “Septuplets.” The same year, he also guest starred in “That '80s Show” (as Wray Thorn), “Glory Days” (as Conrad Jarrett) and NBC's “Boomtown” (as Zack Berman). He also portrayed Parker Neal in the direct to video “The Skulls II,” a sequel to the 2000 hit thriller “The Skulls” from director Rob Cohen, and James in the independent film “Home Room,” which starred Erika Christensen, Busy Philipps and Victor Garber and was directed and written by Paul F. Ryan.

After a brief hiatus, West landed the supporting role of Rob McClanahan in “Miracle” (2004), a biographical sports film about a men's hockey team that was directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Eric Guggenheim. The film starred Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich, Sean McCann, Kenneth Welsh, Eddie Cahill and Patrick O'Brien Demsey. The same year, he also appeared in “The Sharon Osbourne Show” and the documentary film “From Hockey to Hollywood: Actors' Journeys.” However, West did not resurface until he portrayed Quetin in “Forever Strong,” a 2008 sports film directed by Ryan Little and written by David Pliler. The movie also starred Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel.

2009 saw West portray Ed Fralic in an episode of “Bones” and Mike in the “Grey's Anatomy” episode “Holidaze,” where he also performed the song “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” He is scheduled to star as Charles Anderson in the upcoming film “Alleged,” which is expected to be released in 2010. The film is being directed by Tom Hines and was written by Fred Foote and Brian Godawa. Costars of the movie include Colm Meaney, Brian Dennehy, Fred Dalton Thompson, Ashley Johnson, JR Bourne and Khori Faison.

Awards:
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