Academy Award-nominated American actor, Paul Giamatti is active in Hollywood since 1990s. He gained international fame after his outstanding performance in the biographical comedy film, Private Parts. Giamatti is also known for portraying the supporting role in hit movies like Saving Private Ryan, Big Momma's House, and Cinderella Man among others. Regarding TV series, he is popular for his roles in Too Big to Fail, John Adams and Billions. His amazing performance in the movies and TV series helped him to win several prestigious awards including Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Golden Nymph Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and TCA Award among others.
Early Life And Education Of Paul Giamatti
Paul Giamatti was born Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti on 6th June 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut under the birth sign Gemini. Giamatti is the son of A. Bartlett Giamatti (former Yale University professor who later became the president of the commissioner of Major League Baseball) and mother, Toni Marilyn Giamatti (homemaker). He is the youngest of three children, Marcus Giamatti (an actor) and Elena Giamatti (a jewelry designer).
His father, Bart, became the president of the National League and was later appointed MBL Commissioner. Even though he held the position for only five months, he took a memorable step when he banned Pete Rose from the game who was accused of betting on baseball games.
Giamatti attended The Foote School and later graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall. In 1989, he earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University where he used to be an active member of the undergraduate theater scene. He then earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama where he studied with the current acting teacher, Earle R. Gister.
Initially, Giamatti followed his father’s career path to become a professor. He never thought to build a career in acting.
‘’ I was never the cla s s clown, or put on shows at home. I never thought of acting as something I could do with my life. When I was a kid, I used to run around wrapped in toilet paper so I could be the Mummy. But that wasn’t a sign that I was dreaming of being an actor. I was just an odd child.’’
Later, he worked in numbers of theatrical productions, including Broadways. In the early 1990s, he worked in few small TV and film roles.
Paul Giamatti’s Career
Movies
Paul Giamatti made his movie debut in 1991 as Larry Canipe in Neo-noir thriller film, Past Midnight directed by Jan Eliasberg. Giamatti then worked in several movies like Singles, Mighty Aphrodite, Sabrina and Before and After.
Giamatti earned his first high-profile role of an American radio and cable network executive, Kenny ‘’Pig Vomit’’ Rushton in the biographical comedy film, Private Parts. The movie starred Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, Mary McCormack and Gary Dell’Abate.
In 2000, Giamatti nominated for Blockbuster Entertainment Award for his role, John Maxwell in the comedy film, Big Momma’s House directed by Raja Gosnell. Three years later, he portrayed the role of lead character Harvey Pekar (underground comic book writer) in biographical comedy-drama film, American Splendor. The movie starred Harvey Pekar, Hope Davis, Robert Pulcini and Joyce Brabner. His performance in the movie helped him to get nominated for numerous awards.
Giamatti earned huge recognition from his role as an unsuccessful writer, Miles Raymond in the black comedy film, Sideways. He shared the screen with Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh. Moving on, in 2005, he nominated for Academy Awards for his performance as a supporting role, Joe Gould (boxing manager) in Cinderella Man.
Some of his other popular movies include:
| Movies | Role | IMDB Rating | Cast Members |
| Cold Souls (2009) | Paul | 6.5 | Katheryn Winnick, Emily Watson, David Strathairn and Dina Korzun. |
| Barney’s Version (2010) | Barney Panofsky | 7.3 | Rosamund Pike, Dustin Hoffman, Rachelle Lefevre, and Richard J. Lewis. |
| 12 Years a Slave (2013) | Theophilus Freeman | 8.1 | Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fa s sbender and Brad Pitt. |
| Straight Outta Compton (2015) | Jerry Heller | 7.9 | Jason Mitchell, Corey Hawkins, O'Shea Jackson Jr., and Aldis Hodge. |
As of 2018, Giamatti is working in Jaume Collet-Serra’s movie, Jungle Cruise.
TV Series
Paul Giamatti made his small screen debut in 1990 in the TV movie, She’ll Take Romance. Giamatti then appeared in several TV series in an uncredited role like NYPD Blue, New York News, The Show, American Experience, and Saturday Night Live.
Giamatti portrayed the lead role John Adams (US President) in miniseries, John Adams. The series starred Laura Linney, Stephen Dillane, Tom Wilkinson and David Morse. His performance in the series was highly appreciated by fans and critics.
Some of his other popular series include:
| TV Series | Role | IMDB Rating | Cast Members |
| Too Big to Fall (2011) | Ben Bernake | 7.4 | William Hurt, James Woods, Cynthia Nixon and Ed Anser. |
| Downtown Abbey (2013) | Harold Levinson | 8.7 | Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern. |
| Billions (2016-present) | Chuck Rhoades | 8.4 | Maggie Siff, Damian Lewis, Malin Akerman and Asia Kate Dillon. |
As of 2018, he narrated a TV program, Nature.
Paul Giamatti's Awards And Nominations
Paul Giamatti has been nominated for several prestigious awards for his amazing performance in the movies and TV series.
- 2003 = National Board of Review for American Splendor.
- 2004 = Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Chicago Film Critics Association Award, Comedy Film Honor Award, Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award, Independent Spirit Award, New York Film Critics Circle Award, Online Film Critics Society Award, San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Slideways
- 2005 = Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Florida Film Critics Circle Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Toronto Film Critics Association Award and Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Cinderella Man.
- 2008 = Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Golden Nymph Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Satellite Award, TCA Award for Joh Adams.
- 2009 = Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for Cold Souls.
- 2011 = Screen Actors Guild Award for Too Big to Fall.
- 2010 = Golden Globe Award and Genie Award for Barney's Version.
- 2013 = Black Reel Award for 12 Years a Slave.
He also recieved nominations for the awards including Primetime Emmy Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award and Academy Award among others.
Paul Giamatti’s Net Worth
Paul Giamatti, the evergreen Hollywood actor, has an estimated net worth of $25 million. He appeared in numerous movies with an amazing box office collection.
Here is the list of his hit movies:
| Movies | Budget | Box Office Collection | IMDB Rating | Awards and Nominations | Cast Members |
| My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) | $38 million | $299.3 million | 6.3 |
|
Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney and Rupert Everett |
| Robots (2005) | $75 million | $260.7 million | 6.3 |
|
Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Halle Berry and Chris Wedge. |
| The Hangover Part II (2011) | $80 million | $586.8 million | 6.5 |
|
Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Justin Bartha. |
| The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) | $200-293 million | $709 million | 6.7 |
|
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan. |
| San Andreas (2015) | $110 million | $474 million | 6.1 |
|
Dwayne Johnson, Alexandra Daddario, Carla Gugino and Paul Giamatti. |
In 2010, Giamatti bought a house in Brooklyn costs $1.3 million. He also owns a house in LA worth $999k.
Paul Giamatti's Personal Life
Paul Giamatti is a divorcee. Previously, Giamatti was married to Elizabeth Cohen after dating for months. On 13th October 1997, the couple tied the knot in a private ceremony. The pair has a child, Samuel Paul Giamatti born in 2001.
According to the sources, the couple divorced in the 2000s for some undisclosed reasons.
Besides, Giamatti addresses himself as atheism (absence of belief in the existence of deities) and he is ok with it. He told,
‘’ My wife is Jewish. And I'm fine with my son being raised as a Jew. He's learning Hebrew and is really into it. I will talk to my own son about my atheism when the time is right. But there's a great tradition of Jewish atheism, there are no better atheists in the world than the Jews.’’
Here is the video which shows 10 facts about Paul Giamatti:
by saru, 17 Jun, 2018
