Hollyoaks resident Shane Sweeney first stepped into the village more than six years ago – but do you know where the original Shane actor is now?
The character was played by two different actors between 2017 to 2018, with both Lanre Malaolu and Michael Salami taking on the role in that time.
Lanre played Shane in 2017, who viewers later discovered was the father of Prince and Hunter McQueen – and Goldie McQueen’s former partner.
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The character proved so popular that the guest role was made permanent, with Shane promoted to be a regular on the soap, and here, Daily Star takes a look at where original Shane Sweeney star Lanre Malaolu is now.
Hollyoaks exit
Despite being made a regular character, Lanre was unavailable to play the role of Shane regularly and instead, the character was recast with Michael Salami in the role.
During the next year on the soap, the character was seen confessing to the murders of Trigger and DS Thorpe – even though he was not responsible for either – after being set up by Glenn and bullied into confessing by Adam.
Hollyoaks then confirmed the character’s exit, but anything can happen in soap land, leaving the door for Shane to possibly return in the future.
Forgotten soap roles
(Image: Getty Images)
Lanre had already worked extensively in TV, film and theatre before appearing in Hollyoaks – but did you know that this was not his only soap stint?
After making his on-screen acting debut in the short film Cherries in 2007, Lanre appeared in TV series including The Armstrong and Miller Show and The Bill.
He also had a number of soap roles too, after playing Owen Trent in Holby City in 2016, as well as Kabali Mangundu in a 2017 episode of Doctors.
(Image: instagram.com/lanremalaolu)
Since then, Lanre has also appeared in Casualty and most recently, lent his voice to the video game Last Stop.
However away from our screens, Lanre has been delighting audiences with his superb acting talents onstage.
Described as “One of the UK’s most interesting creative minds,” by Alt Africa and “a real talent” by The Guardian, the star has appeared in productions such as The Elephant In The Room in 2019.
Created and performed by the star, it garnered critical acclaim across the board, with The Stage saying: “The ‘elephant’ is never named, but is shown – beautifully.”
Second job and award-winner
Since then, Lanre has wowed audiences as a writer, director and choreographer, with his most recent stage production Samskara selling out across its run at The Yard Theatre.
Described as “ingenious” by The Guardian and “a triumph” by The Stage, the award-winner explained it was inspired by two experiences in particular.
The first was running a movement workshop for inmates at Thameside Prison, with Lanre telling The Guardian: “A guy who had always been really boisterous and up was just sitting there, rocking and shaking his head.
“He looked up and said: ‘I’m tired of being strong.’ It made me think about what it is to be a Black man and feel like you always have to hold certain things.”
The second experience was a conversation with his dad, with Lanre adding: “He started talking about his own dad. I started to think about how he was with me, how his dad was with him, how the dad before that was with his son, and I was like: Lanre, what are you going to pass on?
“What are you going to perpetuate that you don’t even realise you’re doing?”
(Image: Lanre Malaolu)
Not only an actor, the talented writer, choreographer and director produced Short Film The Circle, which won Best Dance Film at the Leeds International Film Festival.
He also won Best Director for his short film, The Conversation, at The Soul Film Festival in 2021.
Lanre’s website also reports that he is currently developing his first feature film with BBC Film and has been commissioned by The Theatre Royal Stratford East to develop and present his next play.
Away from the limelight, Lanre keeps his personal life private and it is not known if the star is single or in a relationship.
Hollyoaks airs weekdays on Channel 4 at 6.30pm followed by a first-look episode on E4 at 7pm
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
