LaPaglia crosses Miller's 'Bridge'
It's the first time in years that Miller has allowed the play to be done in New York. "Bridge" will be directed by Michael Mayer, who directed the national tour of "Angels in America."
Despite being in an acclaimed, though little watched, TV drama, he didn't seem heartbroken not going back this fall.
"TV's a producer-writer medium, not an actor-director medium and I didn't find that out until too late," he said. "When you're shooting a one- hour series and you're in every shot, it's a 16-hour day. Also, you're shooting eight or nine pages a day and they just don't have time for you to question anything.
"They want to make their day, and it's nobody's fault, but you get to the point you don't even know where you are or what you're doing. I like a little more time to prepare as an actor."
Just as his "Murder" predecessor Daniel Benzali found when he left the show, LaPaglia's become the rage in Europe, where the show's a big hit. "It helps because a lot of movie money comes from there, and I was at a photo shoot recently in Venezuela and was mobbed by about 50 Norwegian tourists. I'd have a great career in Norway."
LaPaglia has two films opening shortly --- the Richard Franklin-directed "Brilliant Lies" which just opened, and the Ben Levin-directed "Paperback Romance," which opens Aug. 15. He just wrapped the Danny Cannon-directed "Phoenix," opposite Ray Liotta and Anjelica Huston. LaPaglia's repped by ICM's Joanna Colonna and Chris Andrews and is managed by Julie Yorn.
