Born in Richmond, British Columbia (Canada), Shawn and his twin brother Aaron got their start in acting at an early age when a talent scout recruited the twins from a multiple births (or as Aaron likes to put it, a multiple rugrats) support group to which their mother belonged.
Starting out in commercials and extra work Shawn has been continuously building his resume since. (His brother Aaron took a break from acting, but has since resumed his career.) In 1994, Shawn was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Lead Performance for his role in the CBC movie ‘Guitarman’.
The role that got him noticed by many fans was as Jake in the short-lived TV series ‘Animorphs’ based on the novels by KA Applegate. He continued to build his fan base through the Disney Channel Original Series ‘In a Heartbeat’ (which also co-starred fellow Animorph actor Christopher Ralph.) His break-out role however, is that of young mutant Bobby ‘Iceman’ Drake, in the blockbuster ‘X-Men’ which led to a larger role in the sequel X2: X-Men United.
Other notable roles include a guest-spot on the WB favorite ‘Smallville’ as a teen who temporarily gains Clark Kent’s powers and the Disney Channel Original movie ‘Cadet Kelly’ as an upperclassmen in a upstate military academy.