Occupational Inheritance: No
Social Class: Upper Middle
Father Yale University professor; mother homemaker
Race/Ethnicity/Religion
Family:
Education: Yale, 1989
Training: Yale School of Drama
Teacher/Inspirational Figure:
Radio Debut:
TV Debut: ABC made for TV film She’ll Take Romance (1990); aged 33
Stage Debut:
Broadway Debut:
Film Debut:
Breakthrough Role: Private Parts (1997), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), aged 29
Oscar Role: Supp. nom, then Bes Actor
Other Noms:
Other Awards: Emmy
Frequent Collaborator:
Screen Image: character actor
Last Film:
Career Output:
Film Career Span:
Marriage:
Politics:
Death: NA
Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an American actor whose kudos include a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Oscar Awards and a British Academy Film Award.
After studying acting at the Yale School of Drama he performed in numerous theatrical productions. Giamatti made his Broadway debut portraying Ezra Chater in the Tom Stoppard play Arcadia (1995). Later that year he played the Rev. Donald “Streaky” Bacon in the David Hare play Racing Demon (1995). He returned to theatre in the revivals of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters (1997) and Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh (1999).
Giamatti’s breakout role in film was in Private Parts (1997), which led to supporting roles in My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Man on the Moon (1999).
He won acclaim for his leading roles in American Splendor (2003), Sideways (2004), Win Win (2011), and Private Life (2018). He has also acted in The Illusionist (2006), Fred Claus (2007), The Ides of March (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and Saving Mr. Banks (2013). He also portrayed Limbo in Planet of the Apes (2001), Eugene Landy in Love & Mercy (2014) and Jerry Heller in Straight Outta Compton (2015). He earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe Gould in Cinderella Man (2005) and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as disgruntled teacher Paul Hunham in The Holdovers (2023).
On TV, Giamatti played the title role in the HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), which earned him acclaim and several awards including a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe. He starred as U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades Jr in the Showtime television series Billions (2016–2023), and earned Emmy nominations for his roles as Ben Bernanke in the HBO film Too Big to Fail (2011), and Harold Levinson in the ITV series Downton Abbey (2013).
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born June 6, 1967, in New Haven, Connecticut, the youngest of three children. His father, Angelo Bartlett Giamatti, was a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and later commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Marilyn Giamatti (née Smith), was a homemaker and English teacher who taught at Hopkins School and had also previously acted.
His paternal grandfather’s family were Italian emigrants from Telese Terme; the family surname was originally spelled “Giammattei” before immigrating to the U.S. His paternal grandmother had roots in New England, dating back to the colonial era. Giamatti’s brother, Marcus, is also an actor, and his sister, Elena, was a jewelry designer.
Giamatti attended Yale, where he was active in the undergraduate theater scene and worked with fellow actors and Yale students Ron Livingston and Edward Norton.
He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in English and went on to earn master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama, where he studied with Earle R. Gister.
He performed in theatrical productions, including on Broadway and stint from 1989 to 1992 with Seattle’s Annex Theater, before appearing in some TV and film roles in the early 1990s.
In 2023, Giamatti was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale.
He made his TV debut in the ABC made for television film She’ll Take Romance (1990). After minor roles in the neo-noir Past Midnight (1991) and the romantic comedy Singles (1992) he acted in Woody Allen’s comedy film Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Sydney Pollack’s romantic comedy remake Sabrina (1995). That same year in March, he made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia portraying Ezra Chater. Vincent Canby describe the role as being “a helplessly funny subsidiary” one.[9] In November he portrayed The Rev. Donald Bacon in David Hare’s Racing Demon. Both of these productions took place at the Lincoln Center Theater.
In 1997, Giamatti landed his first high-profile role as Kenny “Pig Vomit” Rushton in the film adaptation of Howard Stern’s Private Parts.
That same year he reunited with Woody Allen, acting in the comedy Deconstructing Harry (1997). He also took a small but memorable role as Richard the Bellman in the Julia Roberts-led romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997).
That same year he returned to Broadway, playing Andrei Prozorov in revival of Chekov’s Three Sisters.
In 1998, Giamatti appeared in supporting roles in the big-budget Peter Weir’s drama The Truman Show,
Spielberg’s World War II drama Saving Private Ryan, and the action thriller The Negotiator.
In 1999, he played Bob Zmuda and Tony Clifton in Miloš Forman’s Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Giamatti continued working steadily during the early 2000s by appearing in major studio releases including Duets (2000), Big Momma’s House (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001) and Big Fat Liar (2002).
In 2003, Giamatti began to earn critical acclaim after his lead role in the film American Splendor. In 2004, Giamatti gained mainstream recognition and fame with the independent romantic comedy Sideways. His portrayal of a depressed writer vacationing in the Santa Barbara wine country garnered him a Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award and he was named Best Actor in a Leading Role by several significant film critics groups (New York, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Online Film Critics).
Giamatti appeared in Cinderella Man, for which he earned Best Supporting Actor nomination. He won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2006, Giamatti was the lead in M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water, a supernatural thriller, followed by the animated The Ant Bully, and Neil Burger’s drama The Illusionist co-starring Edward Norton.
Giamatti had his first major role in an action movie in the 2007 Shoot ‘Em Up, while starring in The Nanny Diaries and Fred Claus.
In 2008, Giamatti received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his title performance in the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams, and also earned a Screen Actors Guild award.
That same year, he starred in the independent film Pretty Bird, a fictionalized retelling about the drama behind the invention of a rocketbelt.
Giamatti starred as the lead in the comedy-drama film Win Win, which earned positive reviews.
The same year he had small roles in Ironclad, The Hangover Part II and The Ides of March.
In 2012, Giamatti became the voiceover actor for Liberty Mutual insurance commercials.
He was the narrator for the PBS Nature episode An Original DUCKumentary.
Giamatti produced and starred in John Dies at the End, which is based on the book of the same name. He also had roles in the films Rock of Ages and Cosmopolis.
In 2013, Giamatti returned to Yale University, to perform the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, for which he won rave reviews in a sold-out, modern dress stage production of the play at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven.[23] He also had supporting roles in several films, including the animated Turbo and The Congress, as well as Parkland, Saving Mr. Banks, and the critically acclaimed 12 Years a Slave.
In addition, Giamatti played the role of New Yorker Harold Levinson, the brother of Cora, the Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern), in the 2013 Christmas special of the period drama, ITV Studios/Carnival Films television series, Downton Abbey. For his performance he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series nomination.
In 2014, Giamatti played villain The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.Also in 2014, Giamatti portrayed psychologist Eugene Landy in the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy.
In 2015, Giamatti portrayed N.W.A manager Jerry Heller in the bio drama Straight Outta Compton. He also played a scientist in the disaster film San Andreas.
From 2016 to 2023, Giamatti played a lead role in the Showtime series Billions, portraying the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The show, debuting in 2016, is loosely based on a real event.[29] For the role he received a nomination for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. In 2016, Giamatti began appearing in commercials for Prism TV, the IPTV service owned by CenturyLink; the spots are the first-ever on-camera TV commercial appearances for Giamatti.
In 2022, Giamatti appeared as Scrooge and Einstein in Verizon commercials.
He served as an executive producer of the WGN America series Outsiders (2016–2017). He also lent his voice to BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty and Big Mouth.
In 2018, he starred in Tamara Jenkins’ Private Life, acting alongside Kathryn Hahn. The film, distributed by Netflix, received positive reviews.
That same year he acted in Reed Morano’s post-apocalyptic romance drama I Think We’re Alone Now and portrayed Samuel Goudsmit in the war film The Catcher Was a Spy. He returned to film in 2021, acting in the action thriller Gunpowder Milkshake and the family adventure film Jungle Cruise.
He reunited with Alexander Payne in the coming-of-age film The Holdovers (2023), which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. The film, distributed by Focus Features, received positive reviews, with critics praising Giamatti’s performance as a curmudgeonly teacher. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood declared, “Giamatti, who so memorably starred in Payne’s 2004 Sideways, has never been better”, adding “this is perfect casting for Giamatti.”[33] For his performance in The Holdovers, Giamatti received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy[34] and the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor.[35]
In 2024 it was announced that Giamatti would star in a TV series based on the Hostel film series.
Giamatti is the subject of the viral “Wax Paul Now” campaign, which pushes for the actor to get a Madame Tussauds wax statue in his likeness.[37] The movement first achieved national prominence when Giamatti appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and discussed the campaign with host Stephen Colbert.[37] After this and subsequent articles in BuzzFeed[38] and The A.V. Club[37] among others, Madame Tussauds New York announced that they would host a party in Giamatti’s honor to coincide with the premiere of Billions Season 3 on March 25, 2018, at which the founders of the Wax Paul Now movement would speak.
Tussauds announced that if a Change.org petition garnered 500,000 signatures in the nine days leading up to the party, they would agree to create the wax statue of Giamatti.[39] As the petition was unable to garner enough signatures in time, the Wax Paul Now campaign is still ongoing.[40] A short film chronicling the campaign premiered at the Virginia Film Festival in October 2019.[41]
Giamatti resides in the Brooklyn Heights, New York and was married to Elizabeth Cohen from 1997 to the 2000s. They have a son, Samuel. Though not religious, he stated: “My wife is Jewish. And I’m fine with my son being raised as a Jew.” Giamatti is atheist, although for him “religion features more now in my life than it did when I was a kid.”
Filmography
1991 Past Midnight Larry Canipe Jan Eliasberg
1992 Singles Kissing Man Cameron Crowe
1995 Mighty Aphrodite Extras Guild Researcher Woody Allen
Sabrina Scott Sydney Pollack
1996 Breathing Room George Jon Sherman
Before and After Member of the Jury Barbet Schroeder Uncredited
1997 Arresting Gena Detective Wilson Hannah Weyer
Donnie Brasco FBI Technician Mike Newell
Private Parts Kenny “Pig Vomit” Rushton Betty Thomas
My Best Friend’s Wedding Richard the Bellman P. J. Hogan
Deconstructing Harry Professor Abbot Woody Allen
A Further Gesture Hotel Clerk Robert Dornhelm
1998 The Truman Show Control Room Director Peter Weir
Dr. Dolittle Blaine Hammersmith Betty Thomas Uncredited
Saving Private Ryan Sergeant William Hill Steven Spielberg
The Negotiator Rudy Timmons F. Gary Gray
Safe Men Veal Chop John Hamburg
1999 Cradle Will Rock Carlo Tim Robbins
Man on the Moon Bob Zmuda Miloš Forman
2000 Big Momma’s House John Maxwell Raja Gosnell
Duets Todd Woods Bruce Paltrow
2001 Storytelling Toby Oxman Todd Solondz Segment: “Non-Fiction”
Planet of the Apes Limbo Tim Burton
2002 Big Fat Liar Marty Wolf Shawn Levy
Thunderpants Johnson J. Johnson Pete Hewitt
2003 American Splendor Harvey Pekar Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
Paycheck Shorty John Woo
Confidence Gordo James Foley
2004 Sideways Miles Raymond Alexander Payne
2005 Robots Tim the Gate Guard Chris Wedge Voice
The Fan and the Flower Narrator Bill Plympton Voice; short film
Cinderella Man Joe Gould Ron Howard
2006 Asterix and the Vikings Asterix Stefan Fjeldmark & Jesper Møller Voice
The Hawk Is Dying George Gattling Julian Goldberger
The Illusionist Chief Inspector Uhl Neil Burger
Lady in the Water Cleveland Heep M. Night Shyamalan
The Ant Bully Stan Beals John A. Davis Voice
2007 The Nanny Diaries Mr. X Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
Shoot ‘Em Up Karl Hertz Michael Davis
Too Loud a Solitude Hanta Genevieve Anderson Voice
Fred Claus Nicholas “Nick” Claus David Dobkin
2008 Pretty Bird Rick Paul Schneider Also producer
2009 Duplicity Richard “Dick” Garsik Tony Gilroy
Cold Souls Paul Giamatti Sophie Barthes
The Haunted World of El Superbeasto Dr. Satan/Steve Wachowski Rob Zombie Voice
The Last Station Vladimir Chertkov Michael Hoffman
2010 Barney’s Version Barney Panofsky Richard J. Lewis
2011 Win Win Mike Flaherty Tom McCarthy
Ironclad King John Jonathan English
The Hangover Part II Kingsley / Detective Peters Todd Phillips
The Ides of March Tom Duffy George Clooney
2012 Rock of Ages Paul Gill Adam Shankman
Cosmopolis Benno Levin David Cronenberg
John Dies at the End Arnie Blondestone Don Coscarelli Also producer
2013 Turbo Chet David Soren Voice
The Congress Dr. Baker Ari Folman
Romeo & Juliet Friar Laurence Carlo Carlei
Parkland Abraham Zapruder Peter Landesman
12 Years a Slave Theophilus Freeman Steve McQueen
All Is Bright Dennis Phil Morrison Also producer
Saving Mr. Banks Ralph John Lee Hancock
2014 Ernest & Celestine Rat Judge Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar & Benjamin Renner English dub
River of Fundament Ptah-Nem-Hotep Matthew Barney
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Aleksei Sytsevich / Rhino Marc Webb
Madame Bovary Monsieur Homais Sophie Barthes
2015 Giant Sloth Gordon Boonewell Paul Hornschemeier Voice; short film
Love & Mercy Dr. Eugene Landy Bill Pohlad
The Little Prince The Academy Teacher Mark Osborne Voice
San Andreas Dr. Lawrence Hayes Brad Peyton
Straight Outta Compton Jerry Heller F. Gary Gray
2016 Ratchet & Clank Drek Kevin Munroe Voice
April and the Extraordinary World Pizoni Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci
The Phenom Dr. Mobley Noah Buschel
Morgan Dr. Alan Shapiro Luke Scott
2018 I Think We’re Alone Now Patrick Reed Morano
Private Life Richard Grimes Tamara Jenkins
The Catcher Was a Spy Samuel Goudsmit Ben Lewin
White Fang Beauty Smith Alexandre Espigares Voice
2021 Gunpowder Milkshake Nathan Navot Papushado
Jungle Cruise Nilo Jaume Collet-Serra
A Mouthful of Air Dr. Sylvester Amy Koppelman
2023 The Holdovers Paul Hunham Alexander Payne
2025 Downton Abbey 3 Harold Levinson Simon Curtis Filming
