Drama King Anthony LaPaglia on Embracing His Silly Side in Lend Me a Tenor

Fans of Anthony LaPaglia’s seven-year run as strong, serious (and, what the hell, sexy) FBI agent Jack Malone in Without a Trace may be surprised to see him onstage at the Music Box Theatre tossing back tranquilizers and sporting an over-the-top Italian accent as opera star Tito Merelli in the farcical comedy Lend Me a Tenor. It’s a far cry from his last Broadway performance 12 years ago, a shattering turn as Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge. But wait: In addition to a Tony Award for Bridge and a Golden Globe for Without a Trace, LaPaglia has an Emmy on his shelf for playing Daphne’s drunken, lecherous brother Simon Moon on Frasier. Having gotten his start in comedy (in the film Betsy’s Wedding) the 51-year-old Aussie-born actor is having a grand time slamming doors and playing dead in the ensemble of Tenor. Relaxing in the lobby of NYC’s Mercer Hotel, LaPaglia chatted with Broadway.com about his career (including a long-in-development movie version of A View from the Bridge), his ignorance of pop culture and his happy life with actress wife Gia Carides and their precocious seven-year-old daughter, Bridget.

What drew you to Lend Me a Tenor?
When I read it, it just made me laugh—it’s like Borscht Belt comedy, and funny as hell. After seven years of a very dour character [on Without a Trace], I wanted to have some fun.

You were obviously teasing in your program bio about being “pleased to come out of early retirement.”
When [director] Stanley [Tucci] called me about this, I had semi-retired. I was quite happy in L.A. having breakfast with my daughter, taking her to school, goofing around with my wife, playing soccer and picking my daughter up. I was just enjoying life. I've known Stanley more than 20 years. We met on the set of Slaves of New York, the Tama Janowitz book that got turned into a film directed by James Ivory—every actor in New York was in it. When he sent me this script, it seemed perfect.

What’s been the biggest challenge?
Farce is a very specific style, and you have to let go of all your method actor crap [laughs]. Stanley persisted in helping me get rid of all the bad habits I learned in seven years of television.

Are you enjoying being part of an ensemble rather than having to carry the whole play?
God, it’s such a relief! I always say to Tony [Shalhoub], “It’s all on your shoulders.” I love to tease him. But we are so blessed with this cast. Everybody is really good. Justin Bartha is just a revelation, and Jan Maxwell is a genius. We call her “the Chinese gymnast” because she always lands a “10.” She gets a laugh on every line.

Are you enjoying being back in New York?
Oh, it’s great. I lived in New York for 20-plus years before I moved to Los Angeles for a series that took place in New York but was shot in L.A. Go figure!

You owned a brownstone here at one point, right?
I still do. I didn’t sell that. Are you kidding? That thing is my daughter’s college [fund]. I rent it out, but there’s no way I’m selling it.

You’ve now performed the extremes of drama [A View from the Bridge] and comedy on Broadway.
That’s what I love to do. There’s a tendency for people to want to put you into a category based on whatever you did last. Now I’m going to be seen as an Italian opera singer.

People in the industry must know you've got a big range.
Yeah, I think they do. But the business has become so young, and some people don’t know your body of work. I go in to meet directors who are 22 and they’re like, “What have you done?” And I want to say, “You go first, because I think your list is shorter.” I’m a bit of a dinosaur now. Agents, producers, actors—they’re all so young! I don’t know who anybody is.

We should go through an issue of US magazine together.
I never have those magazines in the house, but a friend who loves them stayed with us for a while, so they were everywhere. I get up one night at two in the morning and go into the kitchen, and there’s one on the counter. I sort of scowl at it but [he mimes flipping through a magazine]. You can’t help it! So, I’m looking through it, and I didn’t recognize a single person. I’m like, “Is she famous? Really?” And they’re all 20-something. I’ve turned into my father!

You’ve got a seven-year-old daughter to keep you young.
It’s the best thing in the world. And having a daughter? She’s a joy. This play is the first thing she’s seen me in because I’m usually arresting or killing people. I don’t talk about my work at home, and she’s only recently caught on [to the fact that I’m an actor]. I’m very involved with soccer, so she thought I was a soccer coach. She came home one day and said, “Dad, are you on TV?” I said, “Sometimes. Why?” She said, “The kids at school said you have a show. Some of them watch it.” I said, “They’re seven! They can’t watch that show!” She knows me really well. She said, “Look Dad, I know you’re going to have a little bit of trouble with the singing [in Tenor] because you’re very shy and you don’t like to sing in public.” And it’s true. I don’t even sing in the shower. She said, “I think it’s really good for you to do. I’m shy sometimes, too, but when I sing at school I have so much fun.” Isn’t that cute?

So cute! Let’s talk Broadway. What are your memories of [the 1997 Broadway revival of] A View from the Bridge?
It was an amazing production. Arthur [Miller] was still alive and came to a lot of the rehearsals. I could say, “When you wrote this line, what did you mean?” and have him right there. The experience was really rare, and I value that chapter in my life a great deal. Winning the Tony—that’s the thing I’m most proud of.

The Tony is more precious than your Emmy or Golden Globe?
Absolutely. A couple of days before the ceremony, I remember seeing a pile of papers in Starbucks with Tony odds on the front page. I never read reviews or pundits’ predictions, but I looked down and saw that they picked John Leguizamo to win. I had seen his one-man show [Freak], and I went, “Yeah, of course he will win.” So when I won, I was in shock. I don’t really remember what happened after they called my name—I went into slow-mo at Radio City Music Hall. I forgot to thank Arthur, I forgot to thank [director] Michael Mayer. I forgot to thank everybody!

What did you think of the recent Broadway revival of the play [starring Liev Schreiber as Eddie and Scarlett Johansson as his niece Catherine]?
I thought it was really good. To be totally honest, it was very hard for me to be objective about it, having had so much history with the play. It was a different flavor from the one we put on, a more traditional, more literal take on the play. I thought Liev was, as usual, fantastic. And Scarlett surprised me—she was very, very good. I know she’s a good actress, but for the first time out [onstage], that’s a tough part.

There were reports that you were going to star in a movie version of the play with Scarlett and Frances McDormand [as Eddie’s wife Beatrice].
That was about six years ago, and for reasons I’d rather not go into, it was decided it was probably not a good idea. That particular episode took a year out of my life, so I put it on the back burner.

Could the movie still happen?
It is happening. I had to go to England to find a producer because no one here had the courage to take it on. Andrew Bovell [author of the current off-Broadway play When the Rain Stops Falling] has written a beautiful adaptation. He’s opened it up so it’s not a play on film. Arthur was a big supporter of making it a full cinematic experience, and the Red Hook neighborhood will be as much a character as the people. We’ve had two or three meetings with [Alice in Wonderland star] Mia Wasikowska [to play Catherine], and it’s looking good.

Will Frances McDormand still play Beatrice?
I hope so. Franny stopped talking to me because it’s been 13 years of “Yes, no, yes no.” She finally said, “When you’re ready to start shooting, call me.”

Is there any other classic play you’d like to do on Broadway?
I’ve been dying to play George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but they already did it; I have to wait 10 years. But now that I’ve done [Lend Me a Tenor], I’m not that interested in drama anymore. This is the most joyous work experience I’ve ever had.

It doesn’t sound like you were too disappointed that Without a Trace was cancelled.
Why would I be? I had a great run, but I was done. I was so toasted! Television is both a blessing and a curse. More people get to see you in one night than see all your movies put together, but it also erases the fact that you had a career before. The reach of television is so powerful. In France and Spain, I could not walk down the street! The show was enormous there.

These days, Aussie actors are all over American TV and movies.
You're telling me! We're getting close to having no actors left [in Australia]. But you have to understand where I come from [Adelaide]. When I was a kid, saying that I was going to be an actor was like saying I was going to be the first Italian to land on Mars. So, everything that’s happened over the past 20 years has been icing on the cake. Even if it all went away tomorrow, it’s been an incredible journey.

See Anthony LaPaglia in Lend Me a Tenor at the Music Box Theatre.