Without A Trace

Background:

“It's hard to come up with interesting stories that you can't second guess every week. It's a really tough job to do it in an intelligent way. As an actor, you always want more character driven stuff. No matter how much they give you, you still want more. I've always felt like the formula for the show is 10 to 15 percent personal and the rest procedural.” Anthony LaPaglia (on “Without a Trace”)

After working extensively for over 15 years, Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia eventually attained mainstream recognition thanks to his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the CBS popular drama series “Without a Trace” (2002 - present). Starting out in television with small roles in series like “Amazing Stories” and “Magnum, P.I.,” LaPaglia secured his first regular work in the ABC short-lived legal drama “Murder One” (as Jimmy Wilder, 1996-1997) and gained a major boost five years later with his Emmy Award-winning guest role of boorish brother Simon Moon on the hit CBS sitcom “Frasier,” a recurring role he played during 2000 to 2004. The same year he won his Emmy Award (2002), the gifted actor began headlining “Without a Trace.”

Originally immigrating to the U.S. to become a teacher, LaPaglia quickly found acting interesting and decided to pursue acting full time. He proved outstanding in the Alan Alda comedy “Betsy's Wedding” (1990) and has since added a number of film performances to his resume, including “29th Street” (1992), “The Client”(1994), “Trees Lounge” (1996), “Empire Records” (1995), “Company Man” (2000), “Looking for Alibrandi” (2000), “The House of Mirth” (2000), “Analyze That” (2002), “The Salton Sea” (2002), “Spinning Boris” (2003), “The Architect” (2006) and “Happy Feet” (2006). He won an AFI Award, a FCCA Award and an IF Award for the 2001 Aussie thriller “Lantana” and the Verona Love Screens Film Festival Award, the Prism Award and the Newport Beach Film Festival Award for the low budget indie-comedy “Happy Hour” (2003).

On stage, LaPaglia is most celebrated for playing Eddie Carbone in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's “A View From the Bridge” (1998), for which he took home a Tony Award. With the victory, he became the first Aussie ever to win the prestigious award. Other stage credits include “Bouncers,” “On the Open Road” and “The Rose Tattoo.”

LaPaglia has been married to Australian actress Gia Carides since 1998. They have one daughter together.

LaPaglia is part owner of an Australian Soccer club, Sydney FC. Since 2005, he has been flying from California to Sydney to attend their matches. LaPaglia executive produced and narrated the 2006 critically praised TV documentary “The Away Game,” which explores the experiences of Australian football players in Europe.

LaPaglia underwent hip replacement surgery in 2004, which ended his days playing football. He was a goalkeeper in the National Soccer League in the 1980s, playing for Adelaide City and West Adelaide. After he recovered, LaPaglia has played the sport for amateur clubs in California, including Hollywood United, where he also serves as club president. In 2007, LaPaglia played in a charity football match to raise funds for southern California wildfire relief.

Ex-Teacher

Childhood and Family:

Anthony M. LaPaglia was born on January 31, 1959, in Adelaide, Australia, to Eddie LaPaglia, a successful automobile wholesaler, and Maria LaPaglia, a secretary. He has an Italian lineage on his father's side and Dutch on his mother's side. He has two younger brothers, Jonathan LaPaglia (born in 1969), who is also an actor, and Michael LaPaglia, who followed in their dad's footsteps and is now a car wholesaler in Los Angeles.

Anthony enrolled at Rostrevor College and became an elementary school teacher in Australia. He also attended South Australian Castings Agency to get some acting training, but left his course after one and half years to pursue his teaching career in the United States. First looking for an acting job in his spare time, Anthony had made the decision to become a full time actor by 1989.

On September 12, 1998, Anthony married fellow native Aussie Gia Carides (actress, born on June 7, 1964, in Sydney, Australia). The couple, who first met while starring in the 1994 Ben Lewin film “Lucky Break,” welcomed a baby girl named Bridget LaPaglia in January 2003. Anthony and his family currently reside in California.

Lantana

Career:

Anthony LaPaglia left Australia at age 25 to become a teacher in the United States. Settling in New York City, LaPaglia, who first embarked in the dramatic art world in his late teens, got odd jobs in television series like “Amazing Stories” (1985), “Magnum, P.I” (1986), “The Twilight Zone,” “Trapper John, M.D.” (1986) and the low-budget movie “Cold Steel” (1987), starring Brad Davis and Sharon Stone. Despite his success in the made-for-TV biopic “Frank Nitti: The Enforcer” (1988), which cast him in the title role, LaPaglia did not decide to put acting as a priority until after he landed a small part in the James Ivory drama “Slaves of New York” (1989).

A gifted performer, LaPaglia quickly turned heads with his role of Steve Dee, the dignified nephew of a Mafia boss, in “Betsy's Wedding,” a 1990 comedy directed, written by and starring Alan Alda. He gained additional notice on the small screen with his CableACE Award nominating role of David Ringel in the HBO movie “Criminal Justice” (also 1990), opposite Forest Whitaker and Rosie Perez.

LaPaglia next supported Michael Keaton and Rene Russo in “One Good Cop” (1991), costarred with Nathan Lane, Elizabeth Perkins, Sharon Stone, and Kevin Bacon in “He Said, She Said” (1991) and was cast with Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia and Tony Sirico in John Landis' vampire flick, “Innocent Blood” (1992). He offered a volatile performance as the Italian-American son of Danny Aiello in the flashback sequence “29th Street,” directed by George Gallo, in 1992, and followed that up with prominent roles in the Aussie drama “The Custodian” (1993), for which he was nominated for Best Actor in a Lead Role at the 1993 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, and the comedy feature “So I Married an Axe Murderer” (1993), opposite Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. He also resurfaced on stage in the off-Broadway play “On the Open Road” (1993), by Steve Tesich. Previously, LaPaglia had charmed audiences in the comedy “Bouncers” off-Broadway.

Next, LaPaglia costarred with future wife Gia Carides in “Lucky Break” (1994), portrayed a disenchanted Santa Claus in the Steve Martin starring vehicle “Mixed Nuts” (1994) and starred as a store manager named Joe Reaves in the Allan Moyle-helmed “Empire Records” (1995), for which he worked with Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Robin Tunney and Renée Zellweger. It was his role of hit man Mick in the independent movie “Bulletproof Heart/Killer” (1994) and mob killer Barry 'The Blade' Muldano in Joel Schumacher's “The Client” (also 1994) that won him additional recognition. LaPaglia also earned praise on stage for his performance in the Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' “The Rose Tattoo,” opposite Mercedes Ruehl.

In 1996, LaPaglia could be seen in the Australian-directed “Brilliant Lies,” for which he was reunited with Carides, starring as basketball coach and sports reporter Jim 'Jimmy V' Valvano in the CBS TV movie “Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story,” and became part of the star-studded “Trees Lounge,” a directorial debut from actor Steve Buscemi. LaPaglia was also seen in the TV series “Murder One.” Cast as Jimmy Wyler, he was on the show until its cancellation in 1997. LaPaglia then reprised his role for the 1997 miniseries “Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer.”

After starring in the CBS pilot “Repair Shop” (1998), LaPaglia joined Roy Liotta and Anjelica Huston for Danny Cannon's drama “Phoenix” (1998), portrayed Charlie Luciano (aged 30-40) in the based-on-book TV film “Lansky” (1999, opposite Richard Dreyfuss, Eric Roberts and Beverly D'Angelo) and starred as Mary Stuart Masterson's abusive husband in the CBS movie “Black and Blue” (1999). He also acted in the high-profile movies “Summer of Sam” (1999), for director Spike Lee, and “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), directed and written by Woody Allen and starring Sean Penn and Samantha Morton. Meanwhile, on Broadway, the accomplished performer reached the zenith of his fame with his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Eddie Carbone in the 1998 revival of Arthur Miller's “A View From the Bridge.”

LaPaglia opened the new millennium with memorable performances in such movies as “Company Man,” where he played Fidel Castro, the Australian made “Looking for Alibrandi,” for which he was nominated for a Film Critics Circle of Australia for Best Supporting Actor - Male, and “The House of Mirth,” opposite Gillian Anderson and Dan Aykroyd. He also supported Richard Gere and Winona Ryder in the romance “Autumn in New York” (all 2000). The year also saw him begin his prominent recurring role on the long-running CBS sitcom “Frasier,” starring Kelsey Grammer.

2001 proved to be another excellent year for LaPaglia. He was hired to play Detective Leon Zat in the Australian thriller “Lantana,” which enjoyed success on the international circuit. Under the direction of Ray Lawrence, LaPaglia's performance was critically applauded and he was awarded the Best Actor honor at the AFI Awards, the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) Awards and the IF Awards. He then remained in Australia to costar with David Wenham in the thriller “The Bank” (2001).

In 2002, LaPaglia found himself working with Val Kilmer and Adam Goldberg in the D.J. Caruso critically acclaimed “The Salton Sea,” Keifer Sutherland and Radha Mitchell in the action film “Dead Heat,” Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal in “Analyze That,” Monica Potter in the comedy movie “I'm with Lucy,” and Sigourney Weaver in “The Guys.”

LaPaglia's biggest success arrived that same year when he landed the lead role of FBI senior agent Jack Malone on the CBS series “Without A Trace,” which debuted on September 26, 2002. Working with other impressive performers like Poppy Montgomery, Enrique Murciano, Eric Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Roselyn Sanchez, the actor took home a Golden Globe in 2004 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama. The role also brought him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2004), two Screen Actors Guild nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (2004, 2005) and two Golden Satellites for Best Performance by an Actor in a Series, Drama (2004) and Best Actor in a Series, Drama (2005). In addition to his regular gig on “Without A Trace,” LaPaglia also worked on various film projects. He appeared with Janeane Garofalo and the late John Ritter in Bobby Roth's “Manhood” (2003), shared the lead with Jeff Goldblum in the comedy film “Spinning Boris” (2003), and portrayed the single father of Aaron Stanford and Mark Webber in “Winter Solstice” (2004). He also received several awards for his role in the independent comedy “Happy Hour” (2003). He resurfaced in 2006 in Matt Tauber's drama “The Architect” and voiced the character Boss Skua for the Australian-produced, computer-animated film “Happy Feet” (2006). He then portrayed Detective Drummond in the British thriller “Played” (2006), with Gabriel Byrne, Vinnie Jones and “The Salton Sea” costar Val Kilmer.

Following a guest appearance in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” 2007), where he played his famous role of Jack Malone, LaPaglia was featured alongside Geoffrey Rush, Joel Edgerton and Leon Ford in the Australian animated movie “$9.99” (2008). The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 4, 2008. He then costarred with Gilles Marini in the French-language TV series “Tellement vrai” (2008).

Recently, LaPaglia completed shooting “Overnight” (2009), a comedy/romance helmed and penned by Valerie Breiman. The talented actor will also star as war correspondent Roger East in the thriller “Balibo,” for director Robert Connolly, and team up with English actor Guy Pearce for the film “Easter Sixteen” (2009), which will be directed by Jason Barry.

Awards:

• Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama, “Without a Trace,” 2004

• Hamptons International Film Festival: Golden Starfish Award, Career Achievement (acting), 2004

• Newport Beach Film Festival: Achievement Award, Outstanding Achievement in Acting, “Happy Hour,” 2004

• Prism: Performance in a Film Festival Award, “Happy Hour,” 2004

• Verona Love Screens Film Festival: Best Actor, “Happy Hour,” 2004

• Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, “Frasier,” for episode “The Mother Load,” 2002

• Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA): Best Actor – Male, “Lantana,” 2002

• Australian Film Institute (AFI): Best Actor in a Leading Role, “Lantana,” 2001

• IF Award: Best Actor, “Lantana,” 2001

• Tony: Best Actor in a Play, “A View from the Bridge,” 1998