Anthony LaPaglia: ‘There is not a role I didn’t get that I ever gave more than four hours of grievance to – even Tony Soprano’

Anthony LaPaglia on Coogee beach in Sydney: ‘There wasn’t a single word in the Lantana script that I wanted to change, which is so unusual for me.’ Photograph: Joel Pratley/The Guardian

I didn’t know before reading your new memoir that you were almost Tony Soprano. Is there a role that you really wanted that you didn’t end up getting?

It’s not Tony Soprano. There is not a role that I didn’t get that I ever gave more than four hours of grievance to. When I don’t get something, I move on. Because there’s no point. I’m very pragmatic that way. It’s for your own mental health. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.