Why Anthony LaPaglia is unapologetically irritable

Anthony talks about his turbulent childhood in the Adelaide suburb of Beefacres, escaping to a cocaine-fuelled New York in the 1980s to begin life as an actor, and how writing his memoir helped him forgive his parents.

Anthony grew up in the suburbs of Adelaide, in a house full of rage, disappointment and violence.He spent as much time as he could alone, reading books, watching classic Hollywood movies, and dreaming of another life.For a while he thought soccer might be his ticket to escape Adelaide, but it turned out to be acting when he moved to New York in the 1980s.

Anthony has won a Golden Globe for his work in the crime drama Without a Trace, an Emmy for the comedy Frasier and multiple Australian awards for his roles in films including Lantana and Looking for Alibrandi

He was also the first Australian to win a Tony award for his performance in a Broadway revival of the Arthur Miller play, A View from a Bridge.

Anthony’s memoir is The Life We ChooseFurther Information

The Life We Choose is published by HarperCollins

This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores acting, family, Italian migration, Adelaide, selling shoes, soccer, theatre, New York, Hollywood, memoir, therapy, violence, aggression, YouTube, 1980s, divorce, cocaine, Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, movies.

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