Jonathan LaPaglia

Jonathan LaPaglia ( , ; born 31 August 1969) is an Australian actor and television personality. He hosted Network 10's revival of Australian Survivor from 2016 to 2025. As an actor, LaPaglia is known for his roles as Frank B. Parker in the television series Seven Days, Kevin Debreno in The District and Detective Tommy McNamara in New York Undercover.

Early and personal life LaPaglia was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the youngest of three sons of Maria Johannes (née Brendel), a secretary, originally from the Netherlands and Gedio "Eddie" LaPaglia, an auto mechanic and car dealer from Bovalino, Calabria, Italy. Actor Anthony LaPaglia is one of his elder brothers. LaPaglia lives in Santa Monica, California, with his wife Ursula Brooks and daughter.

Career LaPaglia graduated from Rostrevor College, and then from the University of Adelaide with a MBBS medical degree in 1991. He worked three years as an emergency ward physician in Adelaide, Sydney and London. Feeling restricted, he decided to follow his brother into acting. In 1994, he moved to New York City where he joined the Circle in the Square Theatre School. He got his first break in 1996 when he joined the cast of the television series New York Undercover.

From 1998 until 2001, he played the role of Cmdr. Frank B. Parker on the science fiction series Seven Days. Afterwards, he played Detective Kevin Debreno, on The District from 2001–2004. LaPaglia has also guest-starred in numerous series including The Sopranos, NCIS, Cold Case and Castle. He appeared in the May 2008 issue of Car Craft magazine with his custom 6.1L Hemi '73 Dodge Challenger.

In 2011, he starred as the protagonist, Hector, in the TV adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas' novel The Slap produced for ABC TV. Although he is Australian, this was LaPaglia's first appearance in an Australian production. Having lived abroad for many years, LaPaglia found it necessary to hire a dialect coach to recover his Australian accent. His second role in an Australian production was the title character of real-life crime boss Anthony "Rooster" Perish in Channel Nine's Underbelly: Badness, which was the fifth series of the true crime drama franchise. He starred in the 2014 movie The Reckoning alongside Luke Hemsworth.

Since 2016, he has been the host of Network 10's revival of Australian Survivor. In 2020, he was 'inducted' by the "Australian Survivor Archive" fansite into the "Inaugural Australian Survivor Hall of Fame". LaPaglia is also a sports enthusiast and model.

In October 2023, it was confirmed that he would be one of three hosts, alongside Beau Ryan and Blair Joscelyne, on a reboot of Top Gear Australia for Paramount Plus.

In June 2025, it was announced that he would be replaced as host of Australian Survivor. His final season of the show was Australian Survivor: Australia V The World, and it aired in 2025.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1997 Deconstructing Harry First assistant cameraperson 1998 Origin of the Species Stan 2000 Under Hellgate Bridge Vincent 2008 Jack Rio Devon Russel Vince 2011 Detective Neil McKay Direct-to-video 2013 Pioneer Ronald 2014 Detective Robbie Green Also associate producer 2016 Dr Bogan 2019 Ford v Ferrari Eddie

Television Year Title Role Notes 1996–1997 New York Undercover Tommy McNamara Main role (season 3) 1998 Law & Order Frank Russo Episode: "Grief" 1998–2001 Seven Days Cmdr. Frank Parker Main role 1998 Inferno Eddie Television film 2001–2004 Det. Kevin Debreno Main role (seasons 2–4)Director; episode: "The Black Widow Maker" 2002 Det. Kevin Debreno Episode: "Doublecrossover" 2004 Plain Truth Cooper Television film Billy Hytner 2006 Windfall Dave Park 8 episodes Law & Order: Criminal Intent Jack McCaskin Episode: "Tru Love" 2007 Gryphon Prince Seth of Delphi Television film Michael the Cleaver Episodes: "Stage 5" Himself Episodes: "Kennedy and Heidi" 2008 NCIS Special Agent Brent Langer 2 episodes Moonlight Jackson Monaghan Episode: "Sonata" Bones Anton Deluca Episode: "The Skull in the Sculpture" 2008–2010 Cold Case ADA Curtis Bell 10 episodes 2009 Castle John Knox Episode: "Love Me Dead" 2010 Burn Notice Coleman Episode: "Good Intentions" 2011 Final Sale James Dolan Television film Hector Main role 2012 Underbelly: Badness Anthony "Rooster" Perish 2013 Camp Steve 2 episodes 2014–2016 Love Child Dr Patrick McNaughton Main role (series 1–3) 2014 John Acardo Episode: "Il Tavolo Bianco" 2016–2025 Australian Survivor Himself (host) Season 3–Season 13 2018 S.W.A.T. Machine Episode: "Crews" 2023-present Strife Peter 4 episodes2024Top Gear AustraliaHimself (host)Season 5