Anthony LaPaglia (/ləˈpɑːliə/, Italian pronunciation: [laˈpaʎʎa]; born 31 January 1959)[1] is an Australian actor. He has won three AACTA Awards, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Lantana (2001) and Balibo (2009), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Nitram (2021).
Anthony LaPaglia | |
|---|---|
.jpg) LaPaglia in 2013 | |
| Born | 31 January 1959 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse(s) | Cherie Michan (divorced) Alexandra Henkel (m. 2018) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Jonathan LaPaglia (brother) |
For his starring role as Jack Malone on the American television crime drama series Without a Trace (2002–09), he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004. LaPaglia won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Eddie Carbone in the 1997 Broadway revival of A View from the Bridge, and a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Simon Moon on the television sitcom Frasier (2000–04).
He has also appeared in films such as Betsy's Wedding (1990), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Empire Records (1995), Autumn in New York (2000), Happy Feet (2006) and its sequel Happy Feet Two (2011), Mental (2012), Holding the Man (2015), and Annabelle: Creation (2017).
Early life and education
editLaPaglia was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Maria Johannes (née Brendel), a secretary and model, and Egidio "Eddie" LaPaglia (deceased), an auto mechanic and car dealer.[2] LaPaglia's mother was Dutch, and his father emigrated from Bovalino, Calabria, Italy, at the age of eighteen.[2] His younger brother, Jonathan LaPaglia, is also an actor, and his other brother, Michael, is a car wholesaler in Los Angeles. LaPaglia attended Rostrevor College and Norwood High School.
LaPaglia was working in Adelaide as a shoe salesman for Florsheim Shoes in the early 1980s. He asked to be transferred to the US and continued working there while studying acting as he was rejected by the prestigious Sydney drama school NIDA. LaPaglia first began his venture into dramatic art in his late teens, when he enrolled in an acting course at the South Australian Castings Agency (SA Castings) in Adelaide. The two-and-half-year course was to be supplemented with a further three months, which would have included a "boot camp" and a trial listing with SA Castings. After completing one-and-a-half years of the course, LaPaglia left Adelaide for Los Angeles.
Career
editLaPaglia's earliest credit was a 1985 part in an episode of the television series Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. His first feature film was Cold Steel in 1987, followed that same year by the title role of Frank Nitti in the telemovie Nitti: The Enforcer. LaPaglia had a supporting role as a mobster in the minor hit Betsy's Wedding (1990).
He starred alongside Danny Aiello and Lainie Kazan in 29th Street, a fact-based comedy/bio-pic, as the first New York State Lottery winner, Frank Pesce Jr. This was followed by roles in the vampire/Mafia story Innocent Blood (1992), the comedy thriller So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), the legal thriller The Client (1994), and the comedy Empire Records (1995). LaPaglia appeared in the role of Jimmy Wyler, lead character in the TV series Murder One, during its second and final season. LaPaglia made his debut in an Australian production opposite Hugo Weaving in The Custodian (1993). He played a hit man in Bulletproof Heart (1994) with Mimi Rogers and starred alongside future wife Gia Carides in the romantic comedy Paperback Romance (1994).
During 1997–98, LaPaglia appeared in a Broadway production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge with the Roundabout Theatre Company and later received a Tony Award for his portrayal of the protagonist, Eddie Carbone. LaPaglia also played Tito Merelli in Ken Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor on Broadway. Before A View From the Bridge opened, LaPaglia was sent a script for the pilot of The Sopranos and met its creator, David Chase, to discuss the role of protagonist Tony Soprano.[3] However, various factors, including Fox and his Broadway role, prevented LaPaglia from obtaining the role.[4]
Spike Lee cast LaPaglia as a New York police detective in Summer of Sam (1999). During 2000–04, LaPaglia appeared in eight episodes of the sitcom Frasier, including the finale, playing Daphne Moon's brother Simon.[2] The role won him an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series".
He continued to live mainly in Los Angeles, returning occasionally—especially from about 2000—for roles in major Australian films such as Looking for Alibrandi (2000), Lantana (2001), The Bank (2001), Happy Feet (2006), $9.99 (2008), Balibo (2009), and Happy Feet Two (2011). In 2002, LaPaglia co-starred as a fire captain opposite Sigourney Weaver in The Guys, a film about New York firemen who died in the World Trade Center. He also played the role onstage, rotating with Bill Murray and others. "We did it as a tribute to the men," said LaPaglia. "I've been so lucky to do it, to be part of this experience. But I can't go back to that morning or watch the video. It's too painful."[5] He also played fictional Australian actor Anthony Bella (who played Nicky Caesar in the fictitious series Little Caesar) in the comedy movie Analyze That, but was uncredited in his role.[6]
In addition to playing the central character in Without a Trace during 2002–09, LaPaglia co-wrote an episode entitled "Deep Water".[7] In 2009, LaPaglia played the part of Roger East, a real-life Australian journalist, in the political thriller Balibo, about the killing in 1975 of five Australian journalists by the Indonesian Army in the town of Balibo, East Timor. The opening scene depicts East's own summary execution, during the Indonesian invasion.[2][8]
LaPaglia was originally cast in Quentin Tarantino's new film Django Unchained,[9] but eventually left the project, calling the production "out of control."[10]
In 2012 LaPaglia starred in the ABC drama pilot Americana,[11] but it was not picked up.[12] He next appeared in the feature adaptation of Stephen King's A Good Marriage with Joan Allen.[13] In 2014, LaPaglia appeared in a CBS terrorism drama pilot titled Red Zone starring as a retired CIA operative and current high school football coach who returns to active duty after a terrorist attack in Washington, D.C.[14] It was renamed Field of Play but never aired.[15][16][17]
From about 2012, LaPaglia began accepting work in Australia more frequently. Following major roles in Underground (2012) (a biopic about Julian Assange) and the comedy Mental (2012), LaPaglia had a supporting role in the Neil Armfield's Australian romantic-drama film Holding the Man, as Bob Caleo. The 2015 film stars Ryan Corr and Craig Stott, with supporting performances from LaPaglia, Guy Pearce and Geoffrey Rush. Holding the Man was adapted from Timothy Conigrave's 1995 memoir of the same name. For his role within the film, LaPaglia was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 5th AACTA Awards in 2015. In that year LaPaglia returned to his home city, Adelaide, to star in A Month of Sundays as Frank, a miserable real estate agent who finds solace and redemption in a chance friendship with an elderly woman (played by Julia Blake) who reminds him of his mother. In 2016 he appeared in his first Australian TV series: The Code, a political thriller set against rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China. The following year he starred in the four-part miniseries Sunshine, an Australian crime drama series screened on SBS,[18] set in the western Melbourne suburb of the same name, playing the role of mentor to a promising young Sudanese-Australian soccer player. The four-part miniseries is an Essential Media production, directed by Daina Reid and written by Matt Cameron and Elise McCredie.[19] In 2018, LaPaglia appeared in the fifth season of the comedy Rake, based loosely on the life and misadventures of Charles Waterstreet.
In 2017, LaPaglia played Vito Rizzuto in the Simon Barry Canadian TV series Bad Blood, which aired on Citytv, in French on ICI Radio-Canada.[20] From 2017 to 2020, he starred in Neil Jordan's series Riviera. Set in the French Riviera, the series follows Georgina Clios, a midwestern art curator whose life is turned upside down after the death of her billionaire husband Constantine Clios (LaPaglia) in a yacht accident. Georgina becomes immersed in a world of lies, double-dealing and crime, as she seeks to uncover the truth about her husband's death.[21]
In 2023 LaPaglia appeared in the ABC TV series The Black Hand, which explores the activities of the Italian 'Ndrangheta in the cane fields of Queensland, Australia, in the 1920s and 1930s.[22] The same year, he appeared in his Australian stage debut as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, directed by Neil Armfield.[23]
Personal life
editLaPaglia currently lives in Santa Monica, California. He has said that he adopted an American accent to help him get acting work after moving to the US. His current accent is neither distinctly American nor is it Australian, but, rather, a combination of both.[24] According to an offhand remark by LaPaglia, he has employed an American accent since 1982.[25] LaPaglia is the godfather of Poppy Montgomery and Adam Kaufman's son, Jackson. LaPaglia's first marriage was to actress Cherie Michan. His second marriage was to actress Gia Carides, whom he met at a party;[2] the two starred in the 1994 Australian movie Paperback Romance (a.k.a. Lucky Break) and married in 1998.[citation needed] Their daughter Bridget was born in January 2003. In April 2015, newspapers reported that LaPaglia and Carides had split after 17 years.[26] He married Alexandra Henkel (his third marriage), who is 30 years younger, on 28 April 2018.[27]
Life in soccer
editIn the 1980s, LaPaglia was a goalkeeper in the National Soccer League, playing for Adelaide City and West Adelaide.[2] LaPaglia was part owner of A-League club Sydney FC until 2008; flying from California to Sydney to attend their matches since their inception in 2005. He was the narrator and executive producer of The Away Game, a critically acclaimed television documentary exploring the experiences of Australian men's soccer players in Europe.
He plays occasionally with Hollywood United, an amateur organisation of which he is club president, with others in the entertainment industry including Frank Leboeuf, Vinnie Jones, Steve Jones (of the Sex Pistols) and others.
LaPaglia has a minority shareholding in the International Goalkeepers Academy. The Academy was founded and is operated by James Fraser, who represented the Australian national team leading up to the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
LaPaglia has volunteered as an actor with the Young Storytellers Program. He played in a charity soccer match in 2007 to raise funds for Southern California wildfire relief.[28]
On screen and stage
edit| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Cold Steel | 'Spooky' (film debut) | Feature film |
| 1988 | Nitti: The Enforcer | Frank Nitti | TV film |
| Police Story: Gladiator School | Sergeant Petrelli | TV film | |
| 1989 | Slaves of New York | Henry | Feature film |
| Mortal Sins | Vito | ||
| 1990 | Criminal Justice | David Ringel | TV film |
| Betsy's Wedding | Stevie Dee | Feature film | |
| 1991 | He Said, She Said | Mark | Feature film |
| One Good Cop | Detective Stevie Diroma | Feature film | |
| 29th Street | Frank Pesce Jr. | Feature film | |
| The Brotherhood | Salvatore's Brother | TV film | |
| Keeper of the City | Vince Benedetto | TV film | |
| 1992 | Whispers in the Dark | Larry Morgenstern | Feature film |
| Innocent Blood | Joe Gennaro | Feature film | |
| Black Magic | Ross Gage | TV film | |
| 1993 | So I Married an Axe Murderer | Tony Giardino | Feature film |
| The Custodian | Sergeant James Quinlan | Feature film | |
| 1994 | The Client | Barry 'The Blade' Muldano | Feature film |
| Lucky Break | Eddie Mercer | Feature film | |
| Bulletproof Heart | Mick | Feature film | |
| Past Tense | Larry Talbert | TV film | |
| Mixed Nuts | Felix | Feature film | |
| 1995 | Empire Records | Joe Reaves | Feature film |
| 1996 | Chameleon | Willie Serling | Feature film |
| Trees Lounge | Rob | Feature film | |
| Brilliant Lies | Gary Fitzgerald | Feature film | |
| Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story | Jimmy 'Jimmy V' Valvano | TV film | |
| 1997 | Commandments | Harry Luce | Feature film |
| The Garden of Redemption | Don Paolo Montale | TV film | |
| 1998 | Phoenix | Detective Mike Henshaw | Feature film |
| 1999 | Lansky | Charles "Lucky" Luciano | TV film |
| Black and Blue | Bobby Benedetto | TV film | |
| Summer of Sam | Detective Lou Petrocelli | Feature film | |
| Sweet and Lowdown | Al Torrio | Mockumentary film | |
| 2000 | Company Man | Fidel Castro | Feature film |
| Looking for Alibrandi | Michael Andretti | Feature film | |
| The House of Mirth | Sim Rosedale | Feature film | |
| Autumn in New York | John | Feature film | |
| 2001 | Jack the Dog | Jack's Attorney | Feature film |
| Lantana | Detective Leon Zat | Feature film | |
| The Bank | Simon O'Reily | Feature film | |
| On the Edge | Dr. Maas | TV film | |
| 2002 | The Salton Sea | Al Garcetti | Feature film |
| Dead Heat | Ray LaMarr | Feature film | |
| Road to Perdition | Al Capone | Feature film (uncredited) | |
| I'm with Lucy | Bobby Staley | Feature film | |
| The Guys | Nick | Feature film | |
| Analyze That | Anthony Bella / Nicky Caesar (uncredited cameo) | Feature film | |
| 2003 | Manhood | Jack's Attorney | Feature film |
| Happy Hour | Tulley | Feature film | |
| Spinning Boris | Dick Dresner | ||
| 2004 | Winter Solstice | Jim Winters | Feature film (also executive producer) |
| 2006 | The Architect | Leo Waters | Feature film |
| Played | Detective Drummond | Feature film | |
| Happy Feet | Boss Skua (voice) | Animated feature film | |
| 2008 | $9.99 | Jim Peck (voice) | Stop motion feature film |
| 2009 | Balibo | Roger East | Feature film (also producer) |
| 2010 | Overnight | Captain Brody | |
| Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Twilight (voice) | Animated feature film | |
| 2011 | All-Star Superman | Lex Luthor (voice) | Animated feature film |
| Happy Feet Two | Alpha Skua (voice) | Animated feature film | |
| 2012 | Long Time Gone (aka Crazy Kind of Love) | Gordie | Feature film |
| Mental | Barry Moochmore | Feature film | |
| Underground: The Julian Assange Story | Detective Ken Roberts | TV film | |
| Americana | Robert Soulter | TV film | |
| 2013 | Boomerang | Bill Hamilton | TV film |
| 2014 | A Good Marriage | Bob | Feature film |
| Big Stone Gap | Spec Broadwater | Feature film | |
| Newcomer | Daniel | ||
| Red Zone | TV film | ||
| 2015 | A Month of Sundays | Frank Mollard | Feature film (also executive producer) |
| This Isn't Funny | Mike | Feature film | |
| Holding the Man | Bob Caleo | Feature film | |
| The Eichmann Show | Leo Hurwitz | TV film | |
| 2016 | The Assignment | John 'Honest John' Hartunian | Feature film |
| Toy Gun | Gaetano Lolli | ||
| 2017 | Annabelle: Creation | Samuel Mullins | Feature film |
| 2020 | Pearl | Jack Wolf | Feature film |
| 2021 | Nitram | Maurice | Feature film |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | Mechanic | Episode: "The Mission" |
| 1986 | Magnum, P.I. | Albert Stanley Higgins | Episode: "Who Is Don Luis Higgins... and Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me?" |
| The Twilight Zone | Punk | Episode: "A Day in Beaumont/The Last Defender of Camelot" | |
| 1988 | The Equalizer | Agent #1 | Episode: "The Child Broker" |
| 1989 | A Man Called Hawk | Jesse | Episode: "A Time and A Place" |
| Gideon Oliver | Raskin | Episode: "Sleep Well, Professor Oliver" | |
| Hardball | Randy Stoltz | Episode: "The Silver Scream" | |
| 1990 | Equal Justice | George Griffin | Episode: "The Price of Justice" |
| Father Dowling Mysteries | Paul Damon | Episode: "The Visiting Priest Mystery" | |
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Abel, The Cable Guy | Episode: "Spoiled" |
| 1996–97 | Murder One | Jimmy Wyler | 18 episodes |
| 1997 | Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer | Jimmy Wyler | TV miniseries 6 episodes |
| 2000 | Normal, Ohio | David | Unaired pilot |
| 2000–04 | Frasier | Simon Moon | 8 episodes |
| 2002 | Nature | Narrator | Episode: "Big Red Roos" |
| 2002–09 | Without a Trace | Jack Malone | 160 episodes (also writer - 3 episodes) |
| 2006 | The Away Game | Narrator | TV documentary (also executive producer) |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jack Malone | Episode: "Who and What" |
| 2008 | Tellement vrai | ||
| 2016 | The Code | Jan Roth | 6 episodes |
| Swedish Dicks | Jack | Episode: "#1.9" | |
| 2017 | Bad Blood | Vito Rizzuto | 6 episodes |
| Sunshine | Eddie | TV miniseries, 4 episodes | |
| 2017–19 | Riviera | Constantine Clios | 16 episodes |
| 2018 | Rake | Linus | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Halifax: Retribution | Tom Saracen | 7 episodes |
| 2023 | Florida Man | Sonny Valentine | 7 episodes |
| 2023 | The Black Hand | Presenter | |
| 2024 | Boy Swallows Universe | Tytus Broz | 7 episodes |
| Stage | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Bouncers | Les | Minetta Lane Theatre, New York City |
| 1993 | On the Open Road | Angel | Joseph Papp Public Theater/Martinson Hall, New York City |
| 1995 | The Rose Tattoo | Alvaro Mangiacavallo | Circle in the Square Theatre, New York City Theatre World Award Nominated – Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play |
| 1995–1996 | Northeast Local | Mickey | Lincoln Center Theater, New York City |
| 1997–1998 | A View from the Bridge | Eddie Carbone | Criterion Center Stage Right, New York City Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
| 2002 | The Guys | The Flea Theater, New York City | |
| 2010 | Lend Me a Tenor | Tito Merelli | Music Box Theatre, Broadway |
| 2023 | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne – Australian stage debut |
| 2024 | Death of a Salesman | Willy Loman | Theatre Royal Sydney |
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- ^ "UPI Almanac for Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021". United Press International. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
actor Anthony LaPaglia in 1959 (age 62)
- ^ a b c d e f Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2009[full citation needed]
- ^ Evan Henerson, 2005, "Tracing a friendship" Archived 14 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, sopranos.com; accessdate 9 November 2010.
- ^ "David Chase & 'The Sopranos' Gang Look Back 20 Years Later: Part I". deadline.com. 10 January 2019.
- ^ "Anthony LaPaglia (TV and film actor)". Parade Magazine. In Step With: Anthony LaPaglia. 27 March 2005. Archived from the original on 17 October 2006.
- ^ "At the Movies: 'Analyze That'". ourmidland.com. 5 December 2002.
- ^ tvguide.com – "Exclusive! Anthony LaPaglia Reveals His Own Take on Trace" – retrieved 21-04-2009
- ^ LaPaglia leads Balibo five thriller cast, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 28 September 2007.
- ^ "Anthony LaPaglia joins 'Django Unchained', discusses Joseph Gordon-Levitt's role |". Reservoirwatchdogs.com. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (17 August 2012). "Anthony LaPaglia Exited 'Django Unchained,' Says Production Was "Out of Control"". blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- ^ Nellie Andreeva (18 February 2012). "Anthony LaPaglia to Star in ABC Drama Pilot 'Americana'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ Leaked scenes from dropped show, Americana; retrieved 16 March 2014
- ^ Patten, Dominic (3 May 2013). "Anthony LaPaglia Joins 'A Good Marriage'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (14 March 2014). "Anthony LaPaglia to Star in CBS' Nikki Toscano Terrorism Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (19 May 2014). "Rejected pilots: Look who's out of work (for now)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ Ingram, Hunter (22 April 2014). "CBS pilot 'Red Zone' renamed 'Field of Play'". StarNews Online. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (21 April 2014). "Complete fall 2014 pilot list". Entertainment Weekly. Time, Inc. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ "Airdate: Sunshine | TV Tonight". 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Anthony LaPaglia leads new SBS drama Sunshine | TV Tonight". 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Bad Blood, une version atténuée du clan Rizzuto | Vincent Larouche | Télévision". La Presse (in Canadian French). Montreal. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (9 August 2016). "Sky's Riviera Completes Cast Opposite Julia Stiles in Neil Jordan Jet-Set Thriller". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Debi Enker (20 June 2023). "Anthony LaPaglia's personal dive into the Mafia's history in Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Tim Byrne (8 September 2023). "Death of a Salesman review – Anthony LaPaglia leads an electric, devastating tragedy". The Guardian.
- ^ Davenport, Dawn Meade (16 October 2008). "The Watercooler: How do they lose those accents?". Johnson City Press. Johnson City, Tennessee: Sandusky Newspapers. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
Anthony LaPaglia, Australian, Without a Trace, CBS. After years in the movies and a memorable recurring role as Daphne's drunken Mancunian brother on Frasier, LaPaglia took the part of New York FBI agent Jack Malone on Without a Trace. Because American accents vary greatly from region to region, and we don't know where Jack grew up, LaPaglia gets away with diction that sounds neither distinctly American nor Australian.
- ^ "Chaser gives LaPaglia a g-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 August 2006.
- ^ "Anthony LaPaglia and Gia Carides split after 17 years of marriage: Who's Ant's mystery brunette?". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ Demeter Stamell (4 July 2018). "Anthony LaPaglia has married Alexandra Henkel... who is 30 years his junior". Mamamia. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "LaPaglia lines up after wildfires". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: Fairfax Media. 28 October 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
External links
edit
- Anthony LaPaglia at IMDb
- Anthony LaPaglia at the Internet Broadway Database
- Anthony LaPaglia at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Anthony LaPaglia at the TCM Movie Database
- Anthony LaPaglia Bio at CBS – Without a Trace
- Transcript, ABC TV Enough Rope interview with Andrew Denton]
- Anthony LaPaglia speaks to The Riviera Times
