If you have to drop your native tongue in order to adopt the American accent because you believe it will increase your chances of making it in Hollywood then you have sacrificed something –not something trivial but something huge. Anthony LaPaglia whose story could be likened with the aforementioned has been making waves in the show business since he relocated from Australia to Los Angeles. Here is a look back to a career that started in the 1980s.
Anthony LaPaglia: Bio and nationality
Anthony Lapaglia is the son of an auto mechanic and car dealer Gedio “Eddie” LaPaglia who immigrated from Bovalino, Calabria, Italy to Australia when he was eighteen. His mother, Maria Johannes (née Brendel) worked as a secretary and model.
Anthony was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 31st January 1959. He has a younger brother named Jonathan LaPaglia who is also an actor while his other brother Michael continued with the father’s business of selling cars.
He attended Rostrevor College and Norwood High School after which he applied to study at the renowned Sydney Drama School NIDA but was rejected. He later ended up as a shoe salesman for Florsheim shoes but never gave up on his acting dreams.
He switched into dramatic arts and started pursuing a course at the South Australian Castings Agency (SA Castings) in Adelaide. When he was done with his courses in Australia, he departed to Los Angeles to chase his dream of becoming an actor.
Anthony LaPaglia is 60 years old and his nationality is Australian-American
Anthony LaPaglia: Career
Anthony LaPaglia made his acting debut in 1985 when he appeared in the NBC fantasy horror television series “Amazing Stories” as a mechanic. He must have brought his knowledge of auto repairs he learned from his father on set. In 1987, he appeared in the American thriller film “Cold Steel” as spooky.
In order to get more roles in films and TV series, he decided to loosen up on his Australian English which he says worked for him as he fully adopted the American English. He appeared as Henry in the 1989 comedy-drama film “Slaves of New York”.
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While his eyes were set on TV series and films. His attention was also on theater productions as he appeared in the off-broadway production “Bouncers”, “On the Open Road”, “The Rose Tattoo” and many others. His breakout role came on TV came in the year 1996 when he appeared as Jimmy Wyler in the legal drama television series “Murder One” on ABC.
In 2000, he joined the cast of the NBC sitcom “Frasier” as Simon Moon. In 2017, he played the role of Vito Rizzuto in the Canadian television crime drama series “Bad Blood” for 6 episodes. He has appeared in numerous films and has been nominated for many industry awards of which he has won some and lost some.
Marriages
Anthony LaPaglia has married three times in his life. He first married actress Cherie Michan. You should know Cherie Michan, the star who appeared in “Annie” and “Dream on”. Their marriage ended in a divorce. Anthony LaPaglia married for the second time, and it was in the eyes of actress Gia Carides whom he met at a party that he found love. The two later starred in the 1994 Australian movie Paperback Romance (a.k.a. Lucky Break). They officially got married in 1998 and welcomed a child named Bridget in January 2003. Unfortunately, after 17 years of living together as husband and wife, their divorce made it to Newspaper headlines in April 2015.
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After three years, Anthony married for the third time to a woman who is 30 years younger. The name of her third wife is Alexandra Henkel and they got married on 28 April 2018.
Net worth
Anthony LaPaglia has made movies in over two continents in 30 years. Although his earlier beginnings in the acting industry may not account for the type of money he makes now but he is not at the bottom of the Hollywood food chain. The actor is worth 6 million dollars (American). This figure is for his troubles in his quest for the search of the pot of gold. He has not revealed when he would retire from the screen, but when that time comes, his net worth might have added weight to ensure he enjoys a good retirement.
Anthony LaPaglia: Height, other facts
Anthony LaPaglia stands at a height of 5ft 10 inches or 177.8 meters. To become a successful actor, he threw away his football boots under the bus of the show business. During the 1980s he played for Adelaide City and West Adelaide in the National Soccer League as a goalkeeper. When he finally decided to leave for football for acting, he got involved in any angle as he was part owner of A-League club Sydney FC until 2008.
At the moment, he is the club president of Hollywood United, an amateur organization where he exercises with his stars on the pitch. He is also a minority shareholder in the International Goalkeepers Academy.
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