LaPaglia's 'Winter Solstice'

Anthony Lapaglia's complex portrayal of agent Jack Malone has helped turn the CBS drama "Without A Trace" into a hit. Now LaPaglia can be seen on the big screen in a new film titled "Winter Solstice."

The film revolves around Jim Winter and his two sons, who five years ago lost their mother in a car accident.

"It's about how a single father struggles to bring up his two sons," LaPaglia tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith. "And it's that kind of time when the oldest son announces kind of out of the blue that not only is he leaving home, but he's leaving the state. And he doesn't really have a clear explanation why, other than he wants to live his own life. And the father cannot wrap his head around like what's wrong with here."

His other son is still in high school, doing poorly and also rebelling.

"You don't know what to do," LaPaglia says as the father in the film. "You don't know what approach to take that is the best for them, or what is the best for you. And you can't determine which is which sometimes.

And it's what I loved about the movie when i read it. It wasn't so much what was on the page; it's all the stuff that was in between - all the stuff that's not spoken," LaPaglia says.

The script was developed at the Sundance Film festival's writer's lab.

Breaking away from his "Without A Trace" character was an opportunity for Lapaglia to show another side of his acting range, he says.

"It gives you a chance to kind of flush out a different side of you," he says. "A TV series is fantastic to have. The one thing I love about it is I never have to look for work, really. And plus, I have a little stability, and I have a great cast and crew and writers and all that kind of stuff.

"But this gives you a chance to go outside the box a little bit of what people start to perceive you as. Because when they see you every week as a certain person, and you are you a a grouchy old guy..."

And yet, LaPaglia says he is amazed as to how well the show has been received.

"We are about to start shooting the finale next week. We're going to shoot about three days of it here in New York," he tells Smith.
And once that is done, he plans to go back to Australia, he says, "I did something i always wanted to do my whole life. I bought a percentage of a professional sports team. Which put me on the board of the team. It's a brand new soccer league in Australia. I'm going there to help open/launch the team."

Facts About Anthony LaPaglia

• Anthony M. LaPaglia was born Jan. 31, 1959, in Adelaide, Australia
• Inspired to become an actor by a community theater performance of William Congreve's "Way of the World" in his native Australia; later worked in community theater in Australia
• In 1982, LaPaglia moved to America and settled in New York City
• Also in 1982, he made his big break in the Off-Broadway play "Bouncers," a play in which he demonstrated his versatility and talent for accents while rendering eight different characters
• LaPaglia made a TV appearance as a second mechanic on "The Mission" episode of NBC's "Amazing Stories" in 1985
• In 1988, LaPaglia made his TV-movie debut in title role of "Frank Nitti: The Enforcer"
• LaPaglia's film debut, "Slaves of New York," premiered in 1989
• He received a Tony for Actor in a Play for "A View From the Bridge" in 1998
• LaPaglia's past jobs were production assistant, waiter, elementary school teacher, professional soccer player, furniture restorer, shoe salesperson and sprinkler installer
• Anthony LaPaglia's younger brother, Jonathan LaPaglia, is a doctor and actor and was a regular on Fox series "New York Undercover" for the 1996-1997 season