Originally Published March 9, 2007
Actors act and writers write. Right? Not so, according to the famed Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia. Sunday, March 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT will mark the debut of the Without a Trace episode, "Deep Water," which LaPaglia co-wrote.
Even with such a huge undertaking, LaPaglia said he's not feeling any pressure. "I feel like it is what it is and people will either respond to it or not. I don't really have any control over it."
Without a Trace fans will notice that this episode is different in that viewers learn why the person is missing at the beginning. (He switched up the format and he's still not feeling any pressure!) This change in structure is what led Anthony LaPaglia to want to write an episode in the first place. "I said why can't we start with a scene of the crime and then work from there? What I want to do is shake it up once in awhile and try something different."
"You can get very complacent after five years doing the same thing week after week after week. It didn't matter to me if it worked or didn't work. I wanted to try," LaPaglia admitted.
Not only did LaPaglia co-write the episode, but he also came up with the storyline. In "Deep Water" a U.S. senator goes missing, and her coworkers and husband are all suspects. It's quite the mix of politics and husband/wife drama, both topics LaPaglia is keen on.
LaPaglia said he was "really fascinated" with the Scott Peterson story. "The fact that he kept going back to the same parking lot on the coast and it was there that they found his wife's body. The fact that he went on a fishing trip on that day to a place where he'd never been fishing before... I wonder what's going through somebody's mind. It was almost like he wanted to get caught. He was either subconsciously guilty about doing it and wanted to get caught. Or he was incredibly narcissistic and wanted to play a game to see how smart he was as opposed to law enforcement."
As someone who was glued to the TV during the Scott Peterson trial, I totally understand LaPaglia's captivation with the subject. "I wanted to do that story, but I didn't want to do a ripped from the headlines version," LaPaglia said. "I'm also very interested in politics." After reading a story about national wildlife preserves and doing more research on the subject, LaPaglia said, "We've had plenty of environmental disasters and that stuff interested me as well."
Creatively, LaPaglia took these three aspects and intertwined them flawlessly. "The idea came to me that it [the political aspect] was a great framework to put the story in. For me to be completely honest about it, the script I turned in I think was much more political, and when the guys read it, they liked the story but they felt it needed to be more personally attached to the characters."
"So they said they wanted to do it, but it would require me going into the writers' room. The story onscreen is significantly different from the one I wrote. All of the elements are there, but I think it got much better through being able to collaborate with the writers. Lots of people contributed lots of good ideas to the script. It didn't fly out of my head by itself," LaPaglia confessed.
After speaking with LaPaglia, I realized it's completely in his nature to share the credit with everyone else at Without a Trace. Working as a team is what he believes in. LaPaglia told me, "I'm a team sports player. I love soccer. I love anything that has to do with teamwork. For longevity, you need a group of people who have a common goal and a common enthusiasm."
In reference to the episode he co-wrote, LaPaglia said, "When we started shooting, I had so much support from the actors and the crew and the producers. It takes a lot to make a show. I figured while I'm there I should learn something."
His learning doesn't start, or end, there. "Ever since I started the show I tried to educate myself about how they work and about what it takes to make a show." LaPaglia loves to be involved in the entire process. "I do script notes on every script and talk to the writers about what's working and what's not working and what we can do to make it the best it can be." When I asked LaPaglia if most other actors are the same way, he quickly said no. He added that it's not because actors don't want to, but the environments don't allow them to, and he's in one that encourages it. "They actually think we can help and ask us for our help. It's a fantastic environment and I know it's very rare."
"Most series, they make you say every 'and, but, if,' even if it doesn't make any sense. On our show it's much more democratic. Every lead actor on the show has a voice. Every guest actor has a voice," LaPaglia articulated.
He believes this is part of the reason Without a Trace is so successful. Plus, he said "The whole cast gets on very well. We all love each other. I know a lot of people say that, but we actually do." He added, "There's no trouble on the farm. There never has been."
The Without a Trace star will continue writing episodes for the show. In fact, he has already pitched an episode for next year. Always gracious for the opportunity, LaPaglia said, "I still want to learn as much about acting as possible, and realizing that just because you're the actor on the show, that's not the show. The show is about 150-200 people from production to editing to writing to doing the grips to the line guys to everyone."
In no way is LaPaglia your average actor. With the slew of crime genre shows on TV, I wanted to know why he would tell people Without a Trace is the one to watch. His response isn't the typical one you'd expect to hear. "I wouldn't. I come from a democratic world. If you want to watch it, watch it. If you don't want to watch it, don't."
He continued, "I believe people watch it based on merit. If you are entertaining and have interesting storylines, you'll get a good audience. And yes, you do need help from the networks to promote you and a good time slot." Referring to the show's move from Thursday night, LaPaglia said, "We were very lucky in the beginning to be behind CSI, but now that we've moved to Sunday night, it's become clear we can survive on our own."
"So far," LaPaglia said, "It's working out."