# ‘Cocaine is the Gollum of drugs’ – and other things we learned from Anthony LaPaglia’s surprisingly juicy memoir

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/cocaine-is-the-gollum-of-drugs-and-other-things-we-learned-from-anthony-lapaglias-surprisingly-juicy-memoir/
- Published: 2026-10-26T14:00:45+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-26T15:48:41+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/oct/27/anthony-lapaglia-memoir-the-life-we-choose-hollywood-gossip
- Topics: Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Film, Health, Medicine

## Key points

- LaPaglia’s memoir mixes personal history with Hollywood stories.
- He was considered for Tony Soprano before James Gandolfini was cast.
- He describes addiction, recovery and financial hardship.

## Summary

Anthony LaPaglia’s memoir, *The Life We Choose*, combines accounts of his abusive childhood and acting career with candid stories about Hollywood colleagues and personal struggles. It also recounts how he came close to playing Tony Soprano, a role that ultimately went to James Gandolfini.

LaPaglia writes that he first tried drugs in his thirties while filming in San Francisco, then became a bingeing cocaine addict before stopping without going to rehab. He describes his difficult upbringing in Adelaide as part of what shaped him as an actor, and says he is now “pretty much broke”. The memoir also includes his claims about difficult encounters with figures including Quentin Tarantino and Val Kilmer.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.