Quick Facts
Biography
Jonathan LaPaglia/ləpɑːliːɑː/ born 31 August 1969, is an Australian actor known for his roles as Frank B. Parker in the television series Seven Days, Kevin Debreno in The District and Det. Tommy McNamara in New York Undercover.
In April 2016, LaPaglia was announced as the host of Network Ten's revival of Australian Survivor.
Personal life
LaPaglia was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the youngest of three sons of Maria Johannes (née Brendel), a secretary, originally from the Netherlands and Gedio "Eddie" LaPaglia, an auto mechanic and car dealer from Bovalino, Calabria, Italy. His elder brothers are actor Anthony LaPaglia, and Michael LaPaglia, a car wholesaler in Los Angeles. Jonathan LaPaglia lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife and daughter.
Career
LaPaglia graduated from Rostrevor College, then the University of Adelaide with a degree in medicine. He worked three years as an emergency-room physician in Adelaide, Sydney and London. Feeling restricted, he decided to follow his brother into acting. In 1994, he moved to New York City where he joined the Circle in the Square Theatre School. He got his first break in 1996 when he joined the cast of TV show New York Undercover (TV series).
From 1998 until 2001 he played the role of Lt. Frank B. Parker on the science fiction series Seven Days. Afterwards, he played Detective Kevin Debreno, on The District from 2001–2004. LaPaglia has also guest starred in numerous series including The Sopranos, NCIS, Cold Case and Castle.
He appeared in the May 2008 issue of Car Craft magazine with his custom 6.1L Hemi '73 Dodge Challenger.
Most recently, he features as the protagonist, Hector, in the TV adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas' novel The Slap produced for ABC TV. Though he is Australian, this is LaPaglia's first appearance in an Australian production. Having lived abroad for so many years, LaPaglia found it necessary to hire a dialect coach to recover his Australian accent.
His second role in an Australian production is set to be the title character of real life crime boss Anthony "Rooster" Perish in Channel Nine's Underbelly: Badness, which is the fifth series of the successful true crime drama series. In 2014 he will star in the movie "The Reckoning" alongside Luke Hemsworth. He is also a sports enthusiast and model.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | New York Undercover | Tommy McNamara | 25 Episodes |
| 1997 | Deconstructing Harry | First Assistant Cameraperson/Harry's Character | |
| 1998 | Inferno | Eddie | TV series |
| Law & Order | Frank Russo (1 Episode,1998)- Grief (TV Episode 1998) | TV Episode | |
| Origin of the Species | Stan | ||
| 1998–2001 | Seven Days | Lt. Frank Parker | 66 episodes, 1998–2001 |
| 2000 | Under Hellgate Bridge | Vincent | |
| 2001–2004 | The District | Det. Kevin Debreno | 66 episodes, 2001–2004 |
| 2002 | The Agency | Det. Kevin Debreno (1 episode – "Doublecrossover") | |
| 2004 | The Dead Will Tell | Billy Hytner | Movie |
| Plain Truth | Cooper | TV movie | |
| 2006 | Brothers & Sisters | Bryan Walker | TV series(1 Episode, "Unaired Pilot") |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Jack McCaskin | 1 Episode | |
| Windfall | Dave Park | TV series(8 episodes, 2006) | |
| 2007 | The Sopranos | Himself / Michael the Cleaver | Michael the Cleaver (1 episode, 2007) |
| Gryphon | Prince Seth of Delphi | TV movie | |
| 2008 | A Beautiful Life | Vince | |
| Bones | Anton Deluca | 1 Episode, 2008 – "The Skull in the Sculpture" | |
| NCIS | Special Agent Brent Langer | 2 Episodes, 2008 | |
| Jack Rio | Devon Russel | ||
| Moonlight | Jackson Monaghan | 1 Episode, 2008 – "Sonata" | |
| 2008–2009 | Cold Case | ADA Curtis Bell | 5 Episodes, 2008–09 |
| 2009 | Castle | John Knox | 1 Episode, "Love Me Dead," 2009 |
| 2010 | Burn Notice | Coleman (Harmless Weasel) | 1 Episode, 2010 |
| Hit List | Detective Neil McKay | ||
| 2011 | The Slap | Hector | 8 Episodes, 2011 |
| 2011 | Final Sale | James Dolan | TV movie |
| 2013 | Underbelly: Badness | Anthony "Rooster" Perish | 8 Episodes, 2012 |
| Pioneer | Ronald | ||
| 2014 | Love Child | Dr Patrick McNaughton | TV Series |
| The Reckoning | Detective Robbie Green | pre-production |
Director
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The District (1 episode, 2004) | "The Black Widow Maker" (2004) TV episode |
Self
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Howie Mandel Show | Himself | Episode 1 dated 11 August 1998 |
| 2001 | The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn | Himself | Episode 1 dated 10 September 2001 |
| 2007 | The Sopranos | Himself | Episode 1 (2007) |
| Making Cleaver | Himself | ||
| 2016 - | Australian Survivor | Himself - Host | 2017 edition onwards |
Archive footage
| Title | Notes |
|---|---|
| NCIS | "Collateral Damage" |