Paul Giamatti

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Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor.

1 Biography
2 Filmography
3 External links

Biography

Early life

Giamatti was born in New York City, New York to A. Bartlett Giamatti, a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Smith, was a teacher at Hopkins School. Giamatti's paternal grandfather was the child of Italian immigrants; his other grandparents were American.

Giamatti has a brother, Marcus, who is also an actor. Giamatti attended the elite boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall, was an English major at Yale, and has a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama. Following his graduation, he performed in numerous theatrical productions (including Broadway) before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s.

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Career

Giamatti's first high profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard Stern's Private Parts. He played Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, Stern's antagonistic program director at WNBC. Stern praised Giamatti's performance often on his radio program, calling for him to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That didn't happen, but Giamatti's career received a boost. He appeared in a number of supporting roles in big-budget movies such as The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, and The Negotiator (all 1998). In 1999 he played Bob Zmuda (and Tony Clifton) in the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Giamatti continued to appear in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House (2000) and the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and co-starred in Big Fat Liar (2002).

He is most often confused in public as Rob Schneider. When he guest hosted for Saturday Night Live, he had a sketch reflecting this.

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Awards

Giamatti's most acclaimed performances were in lead roles in American Splendor (2003) and Sideways (2004). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter (but did not win) and was not nominated for an Oscar, which baffled many in the industry. Giamatti was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar in 2005 for his role in Cinderella Man and also won the SAG award for Best Supporting Actor for the film.

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