LaPaglia memoir: cocaine, Sopranos and Tarantino — SkimNews
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- The Life We Choose opens on LaPaglia's account of an abusive childhood in the Adelaide suburb of Beefacres at the hands of his father, Egidio, and his climb from shoe salesman to Broadway and Hollywood; he estimates 80% of the actors he knows came from difficult beginnings, and says nothing makes an actor better than the anger and revenge that accompany suffering.
- LaPaglia first tried cocaine in 1993, in his 30s, while filming So I Married an Axe Murderer in San Francisco, calling it 'the Gollum of drugs' and a bargain that 'wouldn't put a dent' in his rent; he became a 'bingeing addict' with a four-day solo bender, quit without rehab because he 'couldn't live with the stupidity,' and kept his dealer's number in his head long after.
- David Chase approached LaPaglia with the The Sopranos pilot in 1996, saying he had him in mind as Tony Soprano, but CBS chief executive Les Moonves called it too racy for network television and said CBS would 'gut' it — LaPaglia instead took Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, and HBO then picked up the show and cast James Gandolfini as Tony, with LaPaglia's casting of Allison Janney over Edie Falco leaving Falco to play Carmela.
- Quentin Tarantino lured LaPaglia into discussions for a Django Unchained role as an Australian slave trader in 2011, with LaPaglia reading with Jamie Foxx, but repeated postponements pushed him into Rob Connolly's made-for-TV Underground; Tarantino 'flipped out,' said 'I don't fucking believe this' and hung up, then played the trader himself, while Django took $450m (A$646m) worldwide against an Underground 'barely seen' — a choice LaPaglia now calls 'a classic case of LaPaglia self-sabotage.'
- John Landis nearly drew a punch from LaPaglia during a disagreement over a take on Innocent Blood, stopped by Robert Loggia ('Don't fucking hit him, kid'), while LaPaglia broke out in welts his doctor couldn't explain, had recurring dreams of Landis dying violently that left him feeling good on waking, and linked his lost control back to his abusive father, booking a flurry of therapy appointments once shooting wrapped.
- Harvey Weinstein was called a 'prick' to his face by LaPaglia at a Tribeca charity event, after an actress he was dating said she had to fight Weinstein off in a hotel room; Weinstein smirk retorted 'What are you gonna do about it?' and 'you'll never work in one of my movies' — yet LaPaglia still lists Weinstein among those he has 'mixed feelings' about, rating him 'fair.'
- Internal Revenue Service caught up with LaPaglia after his accountant died in 2024 and he had no idea where his money was, and he has since repaid what he owed; his houses worldwide, vintage motorbikes and exotic cars are all sold, he lives in a rented Santa Monica apartment, and one Rolex is all that remains after three divorces and what he calls his long-term failure to take control of his finances.
Why it matters: LaPaglia's near-miss as Tony Soprano traces to one call — Les Moonves deemed the pilot too racy for CBS and said it would be 'gut' — and the Broadway part he took instead handed the role to James Gandolfini. Meanwhile his own fortune is gone: properties and exotic cars sold, one Rolex left, IRS debt repaid.
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