Fernandez was born in Ukiah, California. His father is of half Portuguese and half Russian Jewish descent and his mother has British ancestry. He has a younger sister and a brother. His stepfather is a contractor. Before becoming an actor, Fernandez began working as a dishwasher, and an American Apparel catalog model hand-picked by the company\'s CEO, Dov Charney, for his then-fledgling company. Later arriving in Los Angeles, he asked Charney for a job and was hired as a stock boy; Fernandez has described working in the stock room as "awful" and the "worst job ever." His first acting gig was a commercial for First 5 California that was directed by Vadim Perelman.\n', '

After completing a short film, Fernandez made his debut television appearance in a 2006 episode of Cold Case, followed by minor roles in Drake & Josh and Lincoln Heights. His screen debut came two years later, in 2007, when he landed the role of Edgar in Interstate before returning to TV. He landed his first recurring role in Jericho as Sean Henthorn between 2006 and 2007. The series was cancelled after just one season before a campaign by fans saw it return for a second before being cancelled once again.\n', '

In 2008, Fernandez became one of the front-runners to play Edward Cullen after he auditioned for Catherine Hardwicke in her Venice Beach garage, during the casting of Twilight. Fernandez was allegedly Hardwicke\'s first choice, but it was up to Kristen Stewart who had the last say. Shiloh later recalled on his narrowly missed opportunity, "At the time, it was just another audition. I didn\'t realize I was missing out on stardom and giant paychecks. Now, looking back on it, I certainly wouldn\'t have been mentally stable enough to deal with all that. Lucky for me, not getting that part led to other work that was a much better fit for me." Fernandez, who had no formal training, admitted being bashful around other actors during rehearsals. Having done an array of television shows (CSI:NY, The United States of Tara) including starring in the Gossip Girl episode "Valley Girls" as Owen Campos, alongside Brittany Snow and Krysten Ritter. He eventually landed his first big break playing a troubled small-town Texas rink manager in the 2010 Sundance hit Skateland with Twilight alum Ashley Greene.\n', '

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