As an Actor, Anthony LaPaglia Leaves a Trace

[TJ]

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?31267

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - In a career characterized by a neverending string of cops and cons, it's easy to forget that Anthony LaPaglia, one of the quintessential New York actors of his generation, was born and raised in Australia. Now, nearly 20 years after he left his native land, his natural accent seems muffled, like an actor trying an Australian accent, but never fully committing.

Talking to reporters as he walks through New York City on a windy spring day, LaPaglia (the "g" in his name is silent) seems at home among the honking horns, periodic sirens and cacophony of voices on his end of the phone. As he walks, he quotes E.B. White on the city and occasionally provides cross-streets to signify his progress.

"The great thing about New York is that people on the street couldn't care less that I'm an actor," LaPaglia says. "People are very nice to me in New York. Very straightforward, too. I've had people say to me, 'I really love your show, I love your work' and I've had other people say to me 'I hate your stuff. I hate what you do.' But they're not saying it to be hostile, just in a really honest way. They don't like what I do. My old joke about New York is that they stab you in the front, they don't stab you in the back."

The show that draws these divergent responses is CBS' "Without a Trace," the television season's quietest freshman hit. LaPaglia plays Jack Malone, the head of an FBI team of Missing Persons investigators. Joining LaPaglia in the crack cast are Poppy Montgomery, Eric Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Enrique Murciano. Every week, the squad reconstructs the final hours leading up to a disappearance on cases that all too frequently mirror the headlines.

Getting into character has turned LaPaglia into an actor nearly as obsessed with details as his character on the show. He confesses that since the Laci Peterson case broke, he's been glued to the television. His voice turns grim, citing a bevy of statistics to support his suspicions about Peterson's husband Scott, who now faces murder charges. On the other hand, his enthusiasm at Elizabeth Smart's odds-beating return home is evident. He's hopeful that "Without a Trace" will be able to enact similar miracles.

"We put up a real missing person fact sheet at the end of every episode," LaPaglia notes. "The day somebody gets found because of one of those, I'll be a really happy guy."

For now, Emmy and Tony-winning actors has to be satisfied with expanding dramatic possibilities of the show. The Thursday, May 1 episode of "Without a Trace" explores LaPaglia's character in directions the series has only hinted at previously. Malone is put on the spot when his handling of one of the season's earlier cases his called into question. Because of Malone's methods, a prep school headmaster and pedophile may go free, yielding an unusually introspective episode.

"Basically, it's about all the mistakes my character has made during the year in the course of doing his job and all the rules he's bent to get done what he wants to get done," LaPaglia says.

The actor was hoping for more episodes of this kind when he segued from an award-winning turn in the Australian drama "Lantana" into what could have been a simple police procedural.

"I think that people thought we were going to be a kind of 'CSI' clone," he says. "I actually don't mind procedurals. It's fine. If I got four or five episodes out of 22 that were character-driven, I'd be fine with that."

A veteran of the truncated final season of "Murder One," LaPaglia is pragmatic about the realities of the show's future.

"Unfortunately, if a certain style of show rates better, that's what they're going to gravitate towards," he says. "I think everybody has agreed that in order for the show to have a nice long life, you at some point do need to get involved with the characters to a degree."

LaPaglia also understands that the show's comfy time slot has been a benefit most new shows don't get.

"The fact that we started doing numbers right away really helped," he admits. "The fact that we followed 'CSI' really, really helped. But a lot of other shows have been in that slot and not been able to hold numbers."


"The point I'm getting to is that in our first year, especially towards the end, I think we really started to find our feet and I think that the show is really starting to find its direction. Next year, I'm hoping that we take it even a step further in terms of how in depth we get with the stories and how in depth we get with the characters -- not only the victims, but also the actual task force."

[EricIdlefan]

Jack Malone can come off a bit arrogant and a jerk from time to time but makes up for it with his heart and soul and care for people coming home.