A canon divergence actor!Shane au that I've been pondering on in my head but will never actually write. Feel free to take this and run if you're into it!
Follows cannon until probably around 2013 when Shane gets a career ending injury
From there he transitions into modelling because he already has a portfolio from his endorsements and all and his couple of years of rookie salary give him a bit of cushion but don't set him up for life
It's not as lucrative as his old deals because he's not The Shane Hollander just a pretty guy. But it comes with the benefit that he doesn't have to pretend to care about the product once the shoot ends and he makes enough so even though it's not fulfilling, Shane is already used to the day-to-day of it and thinks there are worse things he could be doing
One day he gets approached by some producer/director for the male lead in a big budget rom-com
He's all like I'm not an actor tho, and the producer is just like don't even worry, You're mostly there to look hot and be dreamy. At least come in for a chemistry read with the actual lead (I'll give you 1 guess who that is)
He meets Rose Landry and they have great! chemistry (because they are besties!!) he's still not sure about acting but he goes out to dinner with her because he does like her and asks her what she enjoys about it
Rose responds with something along the lines of acting gives her the chance to step into someone else's head and live in their problems and not be in her own head and problems for a little bit. It provides her with both relief and perspective
This is something Shane can obviously relate to because he was already an anxious and stressed person before he lost his dream at 22, so he decides to sign on for the movie
Rose and Shane get really close during the shooting and rose keeps trying to get her to ask him out, he claims to be too exhausted with the shoot schedule, but after the movie wraps they go on a date and their relationship plays out like cannon, except they continue to fake date until the movies release to generate buzz
The movie is a big hit! And Shane is decidedly OK in it! But he finds he does enjoy the experience and he is being approached to do other things because of the movie. It's something he wants to do more of, not just doing it because he has to
He gets an acting coach because now He Cares About It and therefore has to be the best at it and quickly becomes a really beloved actor by audiences.
This also gives him the opportunity to explore his sexuality and queer culture more because while yes, Hollywood is still homophobic its in a very different way to hockey, where proximity to queerness isn't as threatening to your career as long as youre not "actually queer" it's also a much softer threat because their aren't singular individuals who have the ability to straight up kick you out
Idk there's a lot of stuff about Shane's post injury headspace and his ability to engage with queer culture without fear holding him back that really fascinates me but I can't really articulate. Like I think there are aspects of it he would fall in love with because he wasn't immersed in an environment that looked down on it.