Jonathan LaPaglia

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Jonathan LaPaglia
LaPaglia in May 2016
Born (1969-08-31) 31 August 1969 (age 54)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
  • physician
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Ursula Brooks
​
(m. 1998)​
Children1
Relatives

Jonathan LaPaglia (/ləˈpɑːliə/, Italian: [laˈpaʎʎa]; born 31 August 1969) is an Australian actor and television personality. He has hosted Network 10's revival of Australian Survivor since 2016.[1] As an actor, LaPaglia is known for his roles as Frank B. Parker in the television series Seven Days, Kevin Debreno in The District and Detective Tommy McNamara in New York Undercover.

Early and personal life[edit]

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.[2] His elder brothers are actor Anthony LaPaglia, and Michael LaPaglia, a car wholesaler in Los Angeles. LaPaglia lives in Santa Monica, California, with his wife Ursula Brooks and daughter.[3]

Career[edit]

LaPaglia graduated from Rostrevor College, and then from the University of Adelaide with a MBBS medical degree in 1991. He worked three years as an emergency ward 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 the television series New York Undercover.[4]

From 1998 until 2001, he played the role of Cmdr. 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.

In 2011, he starred as the protagonist, Hector, in the TV adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas' novel The Slap produced for ABC TV.[5] Although he is Australian, this was LaPaglia's first appearance in an Australian production. Having lived abroad for many years, LaPaglia found it necessary to hire a dialect coach to recover his Australian accent.[6] His second role in an Australian production was the title character of real-life crime boss Anthony "Rooster" Perish in Channel Nine's Underbelly: Badness, which was the fifth series of the true crime drama franchise.[7] He starred in the 2014 movie The Reckoning alongside Luke Hemsworth.

Since 2016, he has been the host of Network 10's revival of Australian Survivor. In 2020, he was 'inducted' by the "Australian Survivor Archive" fansite into the "Inaugural Australian Survivor Hall of Fame".[8] LaPaglia is also a sports enthusiast and model.

In October 2023, it was confirmed that he would be one of three hosts, alongside Beau Ryan and Blair Joscelyne, on a reboot of Top Gear Australia for Paramount Plus.[9]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Deconstructing Harry First assistant cameraperson
1998 Origin of the Species Stan
2000 Under Hellgate Bridge Vincent
2008 Jack Rio Devon Russel
A Beautiful Life Vince
2011 The Hit List Detective Neil McKay Direct-to-video
2013 Pioneer Ronald
2014 The Reckoning Detective Robbie Green Also associate producer
2016 The Secrets of Emily Blair Dr Bogan
2019 Ford v Ferrari Eddie

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1996–1997 New York Undercover Tommy McNamara Main role (season 3)
1998 Law & Order Frank Russo Episode: "Grief"
1998–2001 Seven Days Cmdr. Frank Parker Main role
1998 Inferno Eddie Television film
2001–2004 The District Det. Kevin Debreno Main role (seasons 2–4)
Director; episode: "The Black Widow Maker"
2002 The Agency Det. Kevin Debreno Episode: "Doublecrossover"
2004 Plain Truth Cooper Television film
The Dead Will Tell Billy Hytner
2006 Windfall Dave Park 8 episodes
Law & Order: Criminal Intent Jack McCaskin Episode: "Tru Love"
2007 Gryphon Prince Seth of Delphi Television film
The Sopranos Michael the Cleaver Episodes: "Stage 5"
Himself Episodes: "Kennedy and Heidi"
2008 NCIS Special Agent Brent Langer 2 episodes
Moonlight Jackson Monaghan Episode: "Sonata"
Bones Anton Deluca Episode: "The Skull in the Sculpture"
2008–2010 Cold Case ADA Curtis Bell 10 episodes
2009 Castle John Knox Episode: "Love Me Dead"
2010 Burn Notice Coleman Episode: "Good Intentions"
2011 Final Sale James Dolan Television film
The Slap Hector Main role
2012 Underbelly: Badness Anthony "Rooster" Perish
2013 Camp Steve 2 episodes
2014–2016 Love Child Dr Patrick McNaughton Main role (series 1–3)
2014 The Mentalist John Acardo Episode: "Il Tavolo Bianco"
2016–present Australian Survivor Himself (host) Season 3–present
2018 S.W.A.T. Machine Episode: "Crews"

References[edit]

  1. ^ #SurvivorAU [@Survivor_AU] (9 April 2016). "ANNOUNCING: Jonathan LaPaglia (@JLa_Paglia) to host #SurvivorAU on @channelten. Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. https://t.co/UqLNnDdijt" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ As per interview on Inside the Actors Studio in 2009
  3. ^ Profile of LaPaglia in Adelaide Now online
  4. ^ Jonathan LaPaglia at IMDb
  5. ^ Conlan, Tara (25 August 2011). "BBC4 to air adaptation of The Slap". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Clune, Richard (9 October 2011). "Jonathan LaPaglia hires Aussie accent coach to iron out the Americanisms". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Nine confirms Underbelly: Badness". TV Tonight. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Jonathan LaPaglia - Australian Survivor Hall of Fame 2020 Inductee". www.facebook.com.
  9. ^ "Confirmed: 'Top Gear Australia' TV show to return in 2024, hosts announced". 23 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.

External links[edit]

Media offices
Preceded by Host of Australian Survivor
2016–present 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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