Character Development
Shane was originally billed to Moennig as "sexy" and "androgynous". Moennig told Michelle Kort from The Advocate that she had learned "a lot" from playing Shane. She has elements of realism because "life imitates art and art imitates life". The actress further explained that she related to certain aspects of Shane's storylines because she had previously experienced them.
Ahead of the series debut in December 2003, a reporter from the PR Newswire wrote that Tammy Lynn Michaels had been cast as Shane's "jilted lover" Lacey, who proceeds to stalk her. While Rosanna Arquette had signed to up to play Cherie Jaffe, the wife of a studio head Steve Jaffe (James Purcell) who arrives as Shane's new client. The writer revealed that Shane would change "more than her haircut".
Moennig said that during the second season Shane would attract a character with "a grounded sense of self, plus a lot of girlish insecurities". She explained "you're always attracted to someone you want to learn from". Erin Daniels who plays Dana Fairbanks added that "you see Shane struggle with actually having feelings, which really scares her".
Shane begins a relationship with Paige Sobel (Kristanna Loken). They meet after Shane's brother, Shay McCutcheon (Aidan Jarrar), makes friends with her son, Jared Sobel (Jackson Allan). Loken told The Advocate's Kort that Paige "hits" on Shane at a PTA meeting and "there it starts". Her character has been emotionally hurt by men she sees Shane as "a little wounded as well, and I think she likes that sensitivity about her, that vulnerability." Paige "comes on strong" and has confidence because she previously slept with woman. But she never had a same-sex relationship and sees Shane and thinks "I'm just going to go for it and see what happens." Through their relationship the series portrayed a storyline in which Paige tells her young son that she is in a lesbian relationship with Shane. Loken said that she was able to draw inspiration from her own childhood experiences with the issue.
Loken said that Moennig had never worked with an actress who was taller than her in sex scenes before herself. She joked that they were unsure of who should be "on top" during the scenes. The show's producer and writer Angola Robinson told Kort that she believed Moennig and Loken had "amazing chemistry" that made it "neat to see Shane contest with Paige". Series creater Ilene Chaiken added that they were "hot together".
Read more about this topic: Shane Mc Cutcheon
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