Paul Giamatti Biography
Paul Giamatti is a distinctive American actor who shot to fame with his roles as Miles in the dramedy "Sideways," the titular character in the biographical drama "John Adams," and Barney Panofsky in the tragicomedy "Barney's Version."His brilliant portrayals of supporting characters have earned him well-deserved awards, including his role as Joe in the sports drama "Cinderella Man." In 2024, Giamatti received his third Golden Globe and his second Oscar nomination for his role as Paul Hanema in Alexander Payne's Christmas comedy "The Holdovers."
Childhood, Youth, Family
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born in the summer of 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut, to parents Angelo Bartlett Giamatti and Toni Marilyn Smith. His father was a respected literature professor at Yale University who became its president in 1978. His mother, an English teacher, became a homemaker after Paul was born, making him the youngest of three children.The couple also raised two other children: their son Marcus, who also became an actor, and Elena, now a jewelry designer. Paul's ancestry includes Italian and English heritage on his father's side, and Irish on his mother's side.
Reflecting on his school years, Giamatti shared:
Paul also noted that he was a strange child in his early years. For example, he'd wrap himself in toilet paper and run around the neighborhood pretending to be a mummy—not to show off his talent for transformation, but simply out of boredom.I was just like any other teenager. I had no idea where I was going, except that I was heading toward the grave and that sooner or later I'd end up there. Believe it or not, I was into wrestling at school and even showed some promise. But then one guy beat me good, and I immediately lost interest in sports. I only became an actor because I watched 'Planet of the Apes' as a child.
Paul studied hard to avoid "disgracing" his intellectual parents. After graduating from Foote School in his hometown, he went on to Yale University. It was there that Giamatti became passionate about theater and appeared on stage in productions alongside Edward Norton and Ron Livingston, who would also become actors.
Consistently pursuing his desire to become a professional on stage and in film, Paul first graduated from university with a Bachelor's degree in English and then enrolled in the Yale School of Drama. He studied under the famous teacher Earl Gister and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Recalling his service in Broadway theaters, Giamatti candidly stated:
There's nothing worse than being in a bad play. It's truly awful, really. If you're in a bad movie, you can easily hide from the shame—just don't go to the premiere. But there, when you're on stage, all those people are looking right at you. I've had some really tough roles. One time in the theater, I played a dwarf, and for the whole play, I had to run around on my knees, smashing them to blood.
Film Career
Paul made his film debut in 1990 with a small role in the comedy "She'll Take Romance." He followed this with roles in "Past Midnight" (Larry), "Sabrina" (Scott), and "Breathing Room" (George). He also landed roles in several TV series.Producers finally took notice in 1997 with the biographical dramedy "Private Parts," where he played Kenny Rushton, the main antagonist to radio shock jock Howard Stern.
While leading roles didn't come right away, Giamatti delivered brilliant supporting performances in major late-nineties projects. He appeared as Professor Abbot in Woody Allen's "Deconstructing Harry" (1997), played Rudy Timmons in the thriller "The Negotiator" (1998), masterfully portrayed Sergeant Hill in Steven Spielberg's war epic "Saving Private Ryan," and took on the role of camera operator Simon in Peter Weir's acclaimed "The Truman Show" (1998).
In 2001, Tim Burton's sci-fi remake "Planet of the Apes" hit theaters, starring Mark Wahlberg. Paul played Limbo, an orangutan slave trader on an ape-dominated planet. Looking back on landing this coveted role, Giamatti recalled:
While shooting "Planet of the Apes," Giamatti took on several leading roles in other films, but none made the same impact as his breakthrough performance as struggling writer Miles Raymond in Alexander Payne's comedy "Sideways" (2004).The idea that I could play in one of these films was overwhelming for me. I didn't audition for it. Tim Burton approached me with this because, I think, he said, 'You look like a monkey, so I'll ask you to do this.' It was one of the most fun things I've ever done. I was covered from head to toe, shoulders and legs in a thick suit, and my agents said, 'Don't you think you should play a human so they can see your face?' And I said, 'If you tell them I want to play a human in this film, I'll kill you all. I want to play a monkey!'
The film swept major awards, with Giamatti earning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor. The following year, Paul earned a Screen Actors Guild Award and Oscar nomination for his role in the boxing biopic "Cinderella Man."
In 2008, Giamatti took on the role of America's second President, John Adams, in the acclaimed HBO miniseries. His remarkable transformation earned Giamatti his first Golden Globe along with Emmy, Satellite, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
One particularly memorable experience for Paul was his work in films based on Russian literary classics. In "The Last Station" (2009), which explores Leo Tolstoy's final year, he delivered a masterful performance as Vladimir Chertkov. Both he and the writer's secretary Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) remained with Tolstoy during his final moments. Paul also landed another intriguing role in "Cold Souls" (2009), playing an actor preparing to perform in Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya."My role in this film is small, but my character is constantly being talked about by other characters. In particular, Hoffman's character, the manager of the Republican candidate, harbors fierce hatred for me. I think it's very interesting to follow how the characters feel such animosity towards each other that they are literally ready to eat each other alive! These guys are all in the public eye, they all have their own TV shows in America! So I didn't need to do in-depth research. I think in reality these people do things even crazier than our characters with Phil. I don't know about your country, but in ours, political players try to come off as macho. Male charisma is the key to winning in the political game. And women have to behave like men if they want to succeed in politics. If she can't, they will use her and throw her out like garbage, as happens in our film with Evan Rachel Wood's character.
"Billions," created by Brian Koppelman, David Levien, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, became another major project for the actor, running for seven seasons. Drawing inspiration from real federal investigations into financial crimes, the drama followed efforts to bring hedge fund manager Bobby "Axe" Axelrod (Damian Lewis) to justice. Paul starred as prosecutor Chuck Rhoades, the man leading the charge against Axelrod.
Throughout "Billions'" seven-year run (2016-2023), Giamatti continued taking on other film roles, believing there's no such thing as too much work. He starred in the war biographical drama "The Catcher Was a Spy" (Samuel Goudsmit), the film "Private Life" (Dr. Sadler), and the action-adventure "Gunpowder Milkshake" (Nathan).This is the longest project I've ever worked on. Closer to the finale, I felt very comfortable and thought, 'Oh, I think now I understand this guy.' So in some sense... I would like to go back and start all over.
In "Gunpowder Milkshake," the synopsis described him as the ruthless boss of an assassin bureau. But Giamatti himself pushed back against this characterization, insisting he played a man caught in a moral bind—essentially just running his own small business:
The real villain in the film is Jim, the Irish gangster played by Ralph Ineson. I liked my character: he heads this terrible bureau of assassins and was probably a mercenary himself once, but at the same time, he's actually a pretty nice, decent person who just wants to do his job well. He's like a father to the main heroine. I wanted to show a good person with a bad job. Nathan is one of the negative characters in the film, but he's a manager, a bureaucrat. He sends killers after Sam only because he sees no other way out.
Paul Giamatti's Personal Life
Paul Giamatti met his first wife, film producer and director Elizabeth Ora Cohen, in late 1996. A few months later, he proposed. The five-year age gap didn't faze him.Cohen was born in Queens, New York, and is known for films such as "Cold Souls", "Birdman", and "A Woman Like Me".
In 2001, the couple welcomed son Samuel Paul, but about fifteen years later, Giamatti and Cohen (who had taken her husband's surname) divorced. They kept the reason for their split private.
Speaking about his son, the actor stated that he considers himself an atheist and will explain his position to Samuel when the time comes:
In early 2024, reports surfaced that Paul Giamatti was dating American actress Clara Wong, whom he met on the set of "Billions."My wife is Jewish, and I'm fine with my son being raised Jewish. He's learning Hebrew, and he really likes it. I'll talk to my son about my atheism when the time comes. But there's a great tradition of Jewish atheism: there are no better atheists in the world than Jews.
It's unclear how long they'd been together since the couple kept their relationship under wraps, but they made their public debut at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. When Paul accepted his well-deserved award, he publicly thanked Clara, officially confirming their relationship status.
Paul Giamatti Now
2024 brought Giamatti several awards for his role in the holiday comedy "The Holdovers." Fans eagerly awaited the Oscar ceremony—his second nomination for the prestigious award. But the Best Actor statue ultimately went to Cillian Murphy for his leading role in the biographical drama "Oppenheimer."In addition, Alexander Payne, the director of "The Holdovers", has decided on his next project. Screenwriter David Hemingson announced that it will be a Western set in Nebraska in the year 1886. He also reported that Paul Giamatti has been offered a role in the film. If he accepts, it will be his third collaboration with Alexander Payne.
Interesting Facts
- When a journalist asked where he prefers to work – in films or on TV, Paul Giamatti responded:
Both have their pros and cons, but I enjoy movies more. I find it hard to concentrate on something for a long time. With TV, you have to focus on the same role for an extended period, and that's quite challenging for me. I like that in movies you can quickly jump into a role and then move on just as fast.
- Looking at the types of characters he often portrays, Giamatti noted that there are very few outright "bad guys" in his filmography. Citing two films – "Gunpowder Milkshake" and "Shoot 'Em Up," Paul also recalled "The Ides of March," where he played political PR manager Tom Duffy, and said he specializes in characters whose morals can be interpreted in various ways.
- Whether joking or not, when Giamatti was asked how he'd play a villain in the next James Bond movie, he immediately launched into his vision of the perfect antagonist for agent 007:
I would like to have some kind of accent. I definitely want an accent. It would be great to have an animal with me. Not necessarily a cat, but something. ... Not a parrot or anything like that. Something real. I don't know. But I would have to have some sort of accent. Furs would be nice. A guy who's all in furs and stuff. That would be cool.