Jonathan LaPaglia | |
|---|---|
 LaPaglia in May 2016 | |
| Born | 31 August 1969 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse |
Ursula Brooks (m. 1998) |
| Children | 1 |
| 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.
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]
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]
| 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 |
| 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" |
