One actor who can take it to ‘The Bank’

Among the many actors from Down Under who have migrated to U.S. shores to forge successful movie careers -- Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Geoffrey Rush and Heath Ledger immediately come to mind -- the name Anthony LaPaglia may not immediately register with the average American moviegoer.

But the versatile Adelaide-born Tony Award-winning actor with the Italian name and American accent, who has lived in New York for two decades, is on a roll. In addition to “The Bank,� which opens Friday in limited release, LaPaglia can also be seen in the recent Robert De Niro-Billy Crystal comedy sequel “Analyze That,� and he has a starring role opposite Sigourney Weaver in “The Guys,� which tells the story of a fire captain who lost eight men in the collapse of the World Trade Center. He also appears in the CBS-TV crime drama “Without a Trace.�

In “The Bank,� LaPaglia plays a ruthless executive who devises a bold insider-trading scheme that could rank among the biggest banking scandals of all time. Written and directed by Robert Connolly, “The Bank� co-stars David Wenham as a brilliant mathematician working to perfect a program that can predict stock market crashes.

Over the years, LaPaglia has played his share of gangsters and cops. Is he worried about stereotyping? Not really, he told Australian television. “Anything that keeps you from having to wait tables is a good thing.�

-- Robert W. Welkos