Shane McDermott
Actor · Artist · Real Estate Broker
I’ve never really had a plan. I’ve had interests. Something catches my attention, I dive in, learn everything I can, make mistakes, figure it out — then eventually something else catches my eye. Acting took me to New York. Curiosity took me around the world. California gave me surfing. Somewhere along the way, I discovered art and architecture. Galveston gave me a home and a family — and somehow painting led to building, building led to business, and business led to real estate. For me, the fun was never in arriving. It was in figuring out where to go next. That’s made for a pretty unconventional life.
1993
Airborne
“Mitchell Goosen at your service. I’m not from around here. What to tell. Don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Don’t care. Just as long as I live near the beach and don’t have to wear a tie. Then I’ll be stylin’.”
Mitchell Goosen · Airborne, 1993
Playing Mitchell Goosen in Airborne was one of those rare, magical experiences that I don’t think I fully appreciated until years later. I was 16 when I got the part, and I think I may have been the youngest actor on set. I’d never made a movie before and, truthfully, I had no idea what I was doing. Thank God for Seth. Without him, I’m not sure I would have made it through the experience. What I did know was that I was surrounded by incredibly talented people. I had the chance to work with producer Steve McEveety, Seth Green, Jack Black, and so many other artists who were generous enough to let a 16-year-old kid learn as he went. At the time, it was simply an incredible adventure. More than 30 years later, seeing people still quoting the movie, showing up for screenings, and introducing Airborne to a new generation has given me a completely different appreciation for what we made. I’m incredibly humbled to have been a small part of something that somehow became a big part of so many people’s lives. What an amazing ride..
From the Archives · The Cincinnati Enquirer · 2018
25 Years Ago, He Was a Cincinnati Heartthrob. Where Is He Now?
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Houston to New York
A Kid in the ‘90s
I grew up in Houston and moved to New York young enough to think that was a perfectly normal thing to do. I started modeling with Ford, then somehow found my way onto television and movie sets — Swans Crossing, Airborne and eventually All My Children. For a kid from Texas, the whole thing was a pretty great adventure.
Interview · /Film · 2017
Shane McDermott, Star of Airborne
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A New Direction
Life After the Camera
When I wasn’t working, I traveled. I lived in Seville, Spain for six months, wandered through Europe and into Africa, and later spent another six months driving and camping across America. Somewhere along the way I discovered California, surfing and paint. Eventually those things became more interesting to me than auditions.
In 2001, after a couple of frustrating years in Los Angeles, I quit acting and moved back to New York. I bartended, painted whenever I could and started trying to figure out what came next.
One Blade Magazine · 2020
Shane McDermott: 15 Minutes
Airborne, skating and what happened after Mitchell Goosen.
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2003 · Galveston, Texas
Finding Galveston
By 2003 I was looking for three things: water, room to paint and somewhere I could afford both. Galveston checked the boxes. It was historic, a little rough around the edges, surrounded by water and definitely not New York or Los Angeles. I liked it almost immediately.
A year later I bought an 1856 house in the East End Historic District to use as a studio. During the renovation, the house collapsed. That’s a longer story.
Paint · Place · Expression
The Art
I started messing around with paint while I was living in California. After I left acting and moved back to New York in 2001, it became more serious. I worked nights behind a bar and spent most of the rest of my time painting, studying art and trying to get better.
Painting was one of the reasons I eventually came to Galveston. I needed space to make a mess, and Galveston gave me plenty of both — space and opportunities to make a mess.
Community · Preservation · People
Living Galveston
Art. Historic Homes. Community.
I came to Galveston for the water and a place to paint. Somehow I ended up rebuilding an old house, becoming a real estate broker, restoring properties, starting businesses and putting down roots on the island. More than twenty years later, I’m still here.
Galveston became home — not just because of the buildings or the beach, but because of the people. The art, the history, the odd characters and the sense that everybody here is somehow part of the same slightly dysfunctional little island family.
Living Galveston Real Estate →
Galveston County Daily News · 2021
Seaside Scenes: IBC Actor-Turned-Realtor a Galveston Treasure
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Recent Events
Still Rolling.
Apparently Airborne wasn’t finished with me either. Thirty years later there are screenings, reunions and people who somehow still remember every line. A whole new generation keeps discovering the movie too. I’m happy to keep rolling with it.
30 Years Later
Mitchell Goosen, Revisited
More than thirty years after Airborne, I sat down with the guys from The Confused Breakfast to talk about Mitchell Goosen, making the movie and what happened after the credits rolled. Turns out I remembered more than I thought I would.