Jonathan LaPaglia: ‘My muscles are T-shirt muscles – they don't do anything'

The Guardian

15-02-2025

What's your biggest takeaway about human behaviour from hosting Australian Survivor for 10 years?
What I've learned is that there's a really deep seated desire to belong. It's interesting to watch how people struggle with that. Because the conceit of the game is that you're trying to vote out one of your own, right? And the best way to do that is to blindside them … and so when you get voted out, I think it's quite confronting – even though it's a game, and everyone goes in knowing it's a game. I think we inherently want to belong.
If you auditioned for Survivor, would you pick the Brains or the Brawn team?
Well, my muscles are T-shirt muscles – they don't do anything, they're just there for looks – so I think they'd be kind of useless. And I'm somewhat of a thinker, so I probably would gravitate toward the brains tribe. That being said, people have been known to say that I overthink things, so I might end up being useless for both tribes. I think I have to be the host, because I'd be hopeless as a player.
If you had to appear as a contestant on a reality TV show tomorrow, which one would it be?
The Great Australian Bake Off? There's something kind of goofy about that which appeals, I don't know why. I can't bake at all. I'm terrible. But if I could provide comedy just for one episode, that would be good.
You studied medicine in Adelaide and worked in emergency rooms for a few years; when was the last time you used your medical training?
Professionally, maybe 30 years ago. Actually, I picked up the books again in Covid and started studying to sit the medical board [examinations] here in the US. And I don't know why – I didn't really think it through, because I don't know who would employ me at my age. But for a couple of months, I hit the books – and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done, trying to recall information from 35 years ago. Because a lot of the stuff I had to learn was from my first years as a medical student. So iIt was a lot of basic sciences and stuff, and trying to dredge up that information was physically painful.
What book do you always return to, and why?
I usually don't read books again, but the one book I've returned to is The House of God by Samuel Shem, from 1978. I've read it a bunch of times, and maybe it's because of my medical background, because he was a doctor and he wrote this book about being an intern. But it's very sardonic in its approach, it has a very David Sedaris tone to it. I felt as if he nailed the whole experience of being a medical intern, but in a very entertaining, humorous way.
What's the oldest thing you own, and why do you still have it?
Maybe my 1967 Pontiac GTO. I've owned it for 20 or 25 years. I don't use it much, and I keep thinking I should sell it, but every time I pull it out, it's such a work of art that I just can't get myself to part with it yet.
If you could only drive one car for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
I have a 1973 Dodge Challenger that I built myself. It's a bit of a Frankenstein – it has a new motor gearbox, all that sort of stuff. And even though it's not perfect, it really has an appeal because my hands created it.
What's the best lesson you learned from someone you've worked with?
I don't know where I got it from, but the philosophy that I have is: you're better off dying on your feet than living on your knees. Stand up and do what you think is right in the moment, rather than acquiescing to someone else or playing it safe.
What are you secretly really good at?
I'm good at watchmaking. It started when I was doing an Aussie show called Love Child, a period drama set in the late 60s. They gave me a watch from that period, and it really piqued my interest in watches – particularly from the 60s and 70s – even though it didn't work. At the end of the show they gave it to me, and I took it to a local watchmaker who just kind of buggered it up – basically, I was going back and forth for six months, and it never really worked properly. So then, because I've always had an interest in anything mechanical, I decided to figure it out. I bought toolsand books, I went online, and I started teaching myself through trial and error, stumbling my way through. It just kind of snowballed from there. And now I have too many tools.
If you had to fight a famous person, who would it be, how would you fight them and who would win?
Maybe Will Ferrell, just because I think he's hilarious. A thumb wrestle. And I think he'd probably win, because there's no way I could keep my shit together. I would lose it.
Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn premieres 17 February on 10 and 10 Play.