Anthony LaPaglia's character in the series Florida Man isn't exactly the villain, but he's also not the good guy — and that's exactly what drew LaPaglia to the role.
Created by Donald Todd (This Is Us), the Netflix dark comedy follows Mike, a struggling ex-cop (Edgar Ramírez, The Undoing), who is forced to return to his home state of Florida. LaPaglia plays Sonny, the father who welcomes him back with a shrug.
"Sonny's particularly despicable at times," says LaPaglia, who got to show off his own tattoos in the series. "They help paint Sonny's duality," he says of the ink. "He's the ex-police chief, who retired with honors ... and is also the biggest crook in the world. And his son has been kicked off the force."
Upon Mike's return, Sonny quickly embroils himself in his prodigal son's plans for a complicated heist, which reignites old family drama. As the story unfolds, the series honors its title by peppering the tension with tongue-in-cheek references to "Florida Man" memes and headlines, in which unusual (and often criminal) behavior in the Sunshine State is reported or satirized.
"It's like Little House on the Prairie meets a Ray Winstone movie," LaPaglia says with a laugh, referring to the burly Brit known for tough guy roles in films like The Departed. "It's not a traditional, linear story. It jumps around a lot. In the age of instant gratification, it's nice that we get to do that. And there's quite a bit of human drama set in very bizarre places. I liked the landscape and the writing, particularly for my character. It was very authentic."
The Aussie expat who moved to the U.S. back in 1981 cracks that he didn't have to reach too far to play this grumpy, wise-cracking old man. Having earned three Emmy nominations and one win for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Frasier, he now boasts an epic roster of television, film and stage credits, including seven seasons starring in Without a Trace, which earned him a fourth Emmy nomination.
While LaPaglia insists selecting projects comes down to writing, not genre, he was thrilled to lean back into comedy with Florida Man. Amid all the zaniness, he also appreciated learning how to scuba dive to do his own stunts and playing a father whose gruff exterior can't hide a palpable need to make peace with his son.
"Relationships are never straightforward, especially if they're parental and dysfunctional," he says. "I thought Sonny was a great character, and then it takes that turn where you find out why they hate each other. I liked that swerve, and it made sense to me and Edgar that there would be an almost coming together, but that it would be quite delicate.
"Even when he's trying to maintain their relationship, you just can't trust him," LaPaglia says with a sigh, and unfortunately for Mike, that's true of just about everyone in his orbit — including the woman at the center of the heist, Delly, played by Abbey Lee (Waco: The Aftermath). "Don't tell Edgar this ... but Abbey steals the show. Her work is fantastic."
On the heels of this wild homecoming story, LaPaglia's next gig takes him back to his own home country. The Adelaide native is excited to return to the stage in July for Death of a Salesman in Melbourne, Australia, and if the Paramount+ reboot of Frasier calls him to revisit his character Simon, he promises, "I'd do it in two seconds."
Though Florida Man is billed as a limited series, LaPaglia is open to doing another season of mayhem. "I invested a lot in this series and formed great working relationships and friendships with the cast and crew," he says, "so I would love to see these people again!"
