Paul Giamatti
Encyclopedia
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (dʒiəˈmɑːti; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including Private Parts
, The Truman Show
, Saving Private Ryan
, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the 2000s including American Splendor
, Sideways, Cinderella Man
, The Illusionist, John Adams
, Cold Souls
, Barney's Version
, and Win Win
.
. His father, Angelo Bartlett Giamatti
, was a Yale University
professor who later became president of the university and commissioner of Major League Baseball
. His mother, Toni Marilyn (née Smith), was a homemaker and English teacher who taught at Hopkins School
and had also previously acted. Giamatti's mother was of Irish descent; his paternal grandfather, Valentine Giamatti, was the son of Italian immigrants from Telese, and his paternal grandmother, Mary Claybaugh Walton, was from a New England
family. His brother, Marcus
, is also an actor, and his sister, Elena, is a jewelry designer. He was educated at The Foote School
and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall
in 1985. He attended Yale University
, where he was elected to the Skull and Bones
secret society. Giamatti was active in the undergraduate theater scene, working alongside actors Ron Livingston
and Edward Norton
, who were also Yale students. He graduated from Yale in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English
. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts
degree from the Yale School of Drama
where he studied with Earle R. Gister
. He performed in numerous theatrical productions (including Broadway) before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s.
's Private Parts
(1997) as 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
. 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 be featured in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House
(2000) with Martin Lawrence
, the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and in Big Fat Liar
(2002) opposite Frankie Muniz
and Amanda Bynes
.
Giamatti began to earn critical acclaim after his lead role in the 2003 film American Splendor
. He gained mainstream recognition and fame with the 2004 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. Following the commercial success of Sideways, Giamatti appeared in Cinderella Man
, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
.
In 2006, he was the lead in M. Night Shyamalan
's Lady in the Water
, a supernatural thriller, followed by the animated film The Ant Bully
, and Neil Burger's drama The Illusionist co-starring Edward Norton
. He also played Mr. Hertz in the action movie Shoot 'Em Up
and Santa Claus
in the comedy Fred Claus
. In 2008, he received his first Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie" for his title performance
in the HBO miniseries John Adams
, a role that also led to a Screen Actors Guild
award. That same year, he starred in the independent film Pretty Bird
which is a fictionalized retelling about the drama behind the invention of a rocketbelt
.
He was nominated for 45 separate awards between 2001 and 2008, and won 26 of them, including both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for John Adams
. All of his nominations except one were for American Splendor, Sideways, Cinderella Man, or John Adams; the exception was a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for Big Momma's House. In 2011 he won a second Golden globe for his portrayal of the titular character in the Canadian film Barney's Version
. The Brooklyn Academy of Music
asked Giamatti, its "2007 BAM Cinema Club Chair", to pick films for an eight-movie series called "Paul Giamatti Selects" and shown at the Academy in August and September 2007. His selections indicated a taste for paranoia and "the darkest of dark comedy," according to a writer for The New York Times
, and included Frenzy, Dr. Strangelove, Brewster McCloud
, The Big Clock, The Seventh Victim
, Dawn of the Dead (1978 version), Seconds
, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers
(1978 version).
Giamatti will play noted science fiction author Philip K. Dick
in the semi-biopic The Owl in Daylight
, which he is producing through his production company, Touchy Feely Productions. He is set for the lead role as Colonel Tom Parker in Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, which co-stars Ron Perlman
, who recently replaced Bruce Campbell
.
neighborhood of Brooklyn
, New York, Giamatti has been married to Elizabeth Giamatti (née Cohen) since 1997. They have a son, Samuel Paul, known as Sam, (born 2001), who is raised in Elizabeth's Jewish religion. Giamatti himself is an atheist.
performs an impression of Giamatti on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast. The AV Club describes Adomian's caricature of Giamatti as "a fantastically broken-down sad-sack."
Private Parts (1997 film)
Private Parts is a 1997 American biographical comedy film produced by Ivan Reitman and released by Paramount Pictures. Written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, the film is an adaptation of the 1993 best-selling book of the same name by radio personality Howard Stern, who stars as himself. It...
, The Truman Show
The Truman Show
The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone...
, Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, The Negotiator, and Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several projects in the 2000s including American Splendor
American Splendor (film)
American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...
, Sideways, Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...
, The Illusionist, John Adams
John Adams (TV miniseries)
John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John...
, Cold Souls
Cold Souls
Cold Souls is a 2009 comedy-drama film written and directed by Sophie Barthes. The film features Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, and David Strathairn. Giamatti stars as a fictionalised version of himself, an anxious, overwhelmed actor who decides to enlist the service of a company to deep...
, Barney's Version
Barney's Version (film)
Barney's Version is a 2010 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Richard J. Lewis, based on the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler...
, and Win Win
Win Win (film)
Win Win is a 2011 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Thomas McCarthy. Based on the story written by Joe Tiboni and Thomas McCarthy, it stars Paul Giamatti, Alex Shaffer and Amy Ryan.-Plot:...
.
Early life
Giamatti, the youngest of three children, was born in New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
. His father, Angelo Bartlett Giamatti
A. Bartlett Giamatti
Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Giamatti was the president of Yale University and later the seventh Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Giamatti negotiated the agreement that terminated the Pete Rose betting scandal by permitting Rose to voluntarily withdraw from the sport, avoiding further...
, was a Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
professor who later became president of the university and commissioner of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. His mother, Toni Marilyn (née Smith), was a homemaker and English teacher who taught at Hopkins School
Hopkins School
The Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational day school, located in New Haven, Connecticut....
and had also previously acted. Giamatti's mother was of Irish descent; his paternal grandfather, Valentine Giamatti, was the son of Italian immigrants from Telese, and his paternal grandmother, Mary Claybaugh Walton, was from a New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
family. His brother, Marcus
Marcus Giamatti
Marcus Giamatti is an American actor, best known for being a regular member of the cast of the CBS drama series Judging Amy.-Background:...
, is also an actor, and his sister, Elena, is a jewelry designer. He was educated at The Foote School
Foote School
The Foote School is a private K-9 co-ed day school founded in 1916, located in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, United States near Yale University.- History :...
and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
in 1985. He attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he was elected to the Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
secret society. Giamatti was active in the undergraduate theater scene, working alongside actors Ron Livingston
Ron Livingston
Ronald Joseph "Ron" Livingston is an American film and television actor. His roles include a disaffected corporate employee in the film Office Space, a sardonic writer in a short-term relationship with Carrie Bradshaw in the TV show Sex and the City, and Captain Lewis Nixon in the miniseries...
and Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
, who were also Yale students. He graduated from Yale in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. He went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree from the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
where he studied with Earle R. Gister
Earle R. Gister
Earle R. Gister, born in March 1934, is an acting teacher of international stature and has been a pioneer in professional theatre training since the mid-1960s...
. He performed in numerous theatrical productions (including Broadway) before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s.
Career
Giamatti's first high-profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard SternHoward Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's Private Parts
Private Parts (1997 film)
Private Parts is a 1997 American biographical comedy film produced by Ivan Reitman and released by Paramount Pictures. Written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, the film is an adaptation of the 1993 best-selling book of the same name by radio personality Howard Stern, who stars as himself. It...
(1997) as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, Stern's antagonistic program director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
at WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
. Stern praised Giamatti's performance often on his radio program, calling for him to be nominated for the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. He appeared in a number of supporting roles in big-budget movies such as The Truman Show
The Truman Show
The Truman Show is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The cast includes Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, as well as Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Ed Harris and Natascha McElhone...
, Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, and The Negotiator (all 1998). In 1999, he played Bob Zmuda
Bob Zmuda
Bob Zmuda is an American writer, comedian, producer and director best known as the sidekick, co-writer and friend of cult personality Andy Kaufman....
(and Tony Clifton
Tony Clifton
Tony Clifton is a fictitious character created and often played by stand up comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s. Characteristic of the many elaborate hoaxes and practical jokes Kaufman concocted, Clifton was not exclusively played by Kaufman—others, mainly Bob Zmuda, stepped into the role on...
) in the Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman
Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
biopic, Man on the Moon. Giamatti continued to be featured in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House
Big Momma's House
Big Momma's House is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell, written by Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer, and starring Martin Lawrence as FBI agent Malcolm Turner. The majority of the film took place in Cartersville, Georgia, but the film was shot on location in California. The...
(2000) with Martin Lawrence
Martin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
, the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and in Big Fat Liar
Big Fat Liar
Big Fat Liar is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, written and produced by Dan Schneider and Brian Robbins, and starring Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes...
(2002) opposite Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz
Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...
and Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Laura Bynes is an American actress, comedian, singer, and fashion designer. Bynes appeared in several successful television series, such as All That and The Amanda Show, on Nickelodeon in the mid to late 1990s and early 2000s, and in 2002, she starred in the TV series, What I Like About You...
.
Giamatti began to earn critical acclaim after his lead role in the 2003 film American Splendor
American Splendor (film)
American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life...
. He gained mainstream recognition and fame with the 2004 independent romantic comedy Sideways
Sideways
Sideways is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. Adapted from Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, Sideways follows two forty-something year old men, portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who take a week-long road trip to...
. His portrayal of a depressed writer vacationing in the Santa Barbara wine country garnered him a Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award. Following the commercial success of Sideways, Giamatti appeared in Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...
, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in film.-Superlatives:-Notes:...
.
In 2006, he was the lead in M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
's Lady in the Water
Lady in the Water
The soundtrack was composed by James Newton Howard. The last four tracks are non-soundtrack songs from singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost, Indie rock band A Whisper in the Noise, and rock 'n' roll revivalists Silvertide. Each of the four songs was written by Bob Dylan...
, a supernatural thriller, followed by the animated film The Ant Bully
The Ant Bully
The Ant Bully is a 1999 children's book drawn and written by John Nickle. It is about a young boy named Lucas Nickle , who is the titular character in the book and who likes to torment ants. It was later adapted into a computer-animated film of the same name by John A...
, and Neil Burger's drama The Illusionist co-starring Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
. He also played Mr. Hertz in the action movie Shoot 'Em Up
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
and Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
in the comedy Fred Claus
Fred Claus
Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:...
. In 2008, he received his first Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie" for his title performance
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
in the HBO miniseries John Adams
John Adams (TV miniseries)
John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John...
, a role that also led to a Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
award. That same year, he starred in the independent film Pretty Bird
Pretty Bird
Pretty Bird is a 2008 American film. It competed in the Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:A sweet-natured guy enlists his pals to help him create and market his idea for a rocket-powered belt...
which is a fictionalized retelling about the drama behind the invention of a rocketbelt
Bell Rocket Belt
The Bell Rocket Belt is a low-power rocket propulsion device that allows an individual to safely travel or leap over small distances. It is a type of rocket pack.-Overview:...
.
He was nominated for 45 separate awards between 2001 and 2008, and won 26 of them, including both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for John Adams
John Adams (TV miniseries)
John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John...
. All of his nominations except one were for American Splendor, Sideways, Cinderella Man, or John Adams; the exception was a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for Big Momma's House. In 2011 he won a second Golden globe for his portrayal of the titular character in the Canadian film Barney's Version
Barney's Version (film)
Barney's Version is a 2010 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Richard J. Lewis, based on the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler...
. The Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
asked Giamatti, its "2007 BAM Cinema Club Chair", to pick films for an eight-movie series called "Paul Giamatti Selects" and shown at the Academy in August and September 2007. His selections indicated a taste for paranoia and "the darkest of dark comedy," according to a writer for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and included Frenzy, Dr. Strangelove, Brewster McCloud
Brewster McCloud
Brewster McCloud is a 1970 movie, directed by Robert Altman, about a young recluse who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, where he is building a pair of wings so he can fly. He is helped by his fairy godmother, played by Sally Kellerman....
, The Big Clock, The Seventh Victim
The Seventh Victim
The Seventh Victim is a 1943 horror and film noir starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter , and Hugh Beaumont, directed by Mark Robson, and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Radio Pictures...
, Dawn of the Dead (1978 version), Seconds
Seconds (film)
Seconds is a 1966 American film starring Rock Hudson. Characterized sometimes as a science fiction thriller, but with elements of horror, neo-noir, psychedelia, and drama, it was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Lewis John Carlino. The script was based on a novel by David Ely...
, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a 1978 science fiction film based on the novel The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. It is a remake of the 1956 film of the same name. It was directed by Philip Kaufman and starred Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and Leonard Nimoy.A San Francisco health inspector and...
(1978 version).
Giamatti will play noted science fiction author Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
in the semi-biopic The Owl in Daylight
The Owl in Daylight
The Owl in Daylight is a novel that Philip K. Dick was working on at the time of his death in 1982. He had already been paid and was working against a deadline. After his death the Philip K. Dick estate approached other writers to see about the possibility of someone writing the novel based on his...
, which he is producing through his production company, Touchy Feely Productions. He is set for the lead role as Colonel Tom Parker in Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, which co-stars Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman
Ronald N. "Ron" Perlman is an American television, film and voice over actor. He is known for having played Vincent in the TV series Beauty and the Beast , a Deathstroke figure known as Slade in the animated series Teen Titans, Clarence "Clay" Morrow in Sons of Anarchy, the comic book character...
, who recently replaced Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
.
Personal life
A resident of the Brooklyn HeightsBrooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
Brooklyn Heights is a culturally diverse neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Originally referred to as 'Brooklyn Village', it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. As of 2000, Brooklyn Heights sustained a population of 22,594 people. The neighborhood is part of...
neighborhood of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, Giamatti has been married to Elizabeth Giamatti (née Cohen) since 1997. They have a son, Samuel Paul, known as Sam, (born 2001), who is raised in Elizabeth's Jewish religion. Giamatti himself is an atheist.
In culture
Comedian James AdomianJames Adomian
James Adomian is an Armenian-American actor and stand-up comedian. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and currently lives in New York City...
performs an impression of Giamatti on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast. The AV Club describes Adomian's caricature of Giamatti as "a fantastically broken-down sad-sack."
Credits
| Title | 1991 | Past Midnight Past Midnight Past Midnight is a 1991 Neo-noir thriller film starring Paul Giamatti, Tom Wright and Clancy Brown alongside leads Rutger Hauer and Natasha Richardson.-Synopsis:... |
Larry Canipe | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Singles | Kissing Man | |||
| 1994 | NYPD Blue NYPD Blue NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan... |
Man In Sleeping Bag | Television series; Episode: "You Bet Your Life" | ||
| 1995 | Mighty Aphrodite Mighty Aphrodite Mighty Aphrodite is a 1995 romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The screenplay was inspired by the mythological tale of Pygmalion.... |
Extras Guild Researcher | |||
| New York News New York News New York News was a newspaper drama which was broadcast in the United States by CBS as part of its 1995 fall lineup.-Premise:New York News was the story of the fictional New York Reporter, a struggling tabloid in the nation's largest, most competitive newspaper market, New York City... |
Dr. Wargner | Television series; Episode: "Past Imperfect" | |||
| Sabrina Sabrina (1995 film) Sabrina is a 1995 romantic comedy-drama film adapted by Barbara Benedek and David Rayfiel, based on the 1954 screenplay of the same name, which in turn was based upon a play titled Sabrina Fair.... |
Scott | ||||
| 1996 | Jeffrey Roffman | Television series; Pilot | |||
| Breathing Room Breathing Room Breathing Room is a 2008 horror film written and directed by John Suits and Gabriel Cowan.The film is said to be "Low on camp and high on suspense", with a plot that resembles the 2006 French cult film 13 Tzameti and House of 9.-Plot:Gabriel Hui is tossed naked into a room with thirteen strangers... |
George | ||||
| Ripper | Doctor Bud Cable | Video game | |||
| 1997 | Arresting Gena | Detective Wilson | |||
| Donnie Brasco Donnie Brasco (film) Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City... |
FBI Technician | ||||
| Private Parts Private Parts (1997 film) Private Parts is a 1997 American biographical comedy film produced by Ivan Reitman and released by Paramount Pictures. Written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, the film is an adaptation of the 1993 best-selling book of the same name by radio personality Howard Stern, who stars as himself. It... |
Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton | ||||
| My Best Friend's Wedding My Best Friend's Wedding My Best Friend's Wedding is a 1997 romantic comedy film directed by P. J. Hogan. It stars Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett, and Philip Bosco.The film received mostly positive reviews from critics... |
Richard the Bellman | ||||
| Deconstructing Harry Deconstructing Harry Deconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to... |
Professor Abbot | ||||
| Hotel Clerk | |||||
| 1998 | Homicide: Life on the Street Homicide: Life on the Street Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale... |
Harry Tjarks | Television series; Episode: "Pit Bull Sessions" | ||
| Control Room Director | |||||
| Dr. Dolittle Dr. Dolittle (film) Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals... |
Blaine | ||||
| Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944.... |
Sergeant Hill | ||||
| Rudy Timmons | |||||
| Safe Men Safe Men Safe Men is a 1998 film written and directed by John Hamburg. The crime-comedy starred Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn as a pair of aspiring lounge singers who are mistaken for ace safe crackers and get mixed up with a Jewish mobster, Big Fat Bernie Gayle and Big Fat's intern, Veal Chop .Safe Men was... |
Veal Chop | ||||
| 1999 | Cradle Will Rock Cradle Will Rock Cradle Will Rock is a 1999 drama film which chronicles the process and events that surrounded the production of the original 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein... |
Carlo | |||
| Man on the Moon | Bob Zmuda Bob Zmuda Bob Zmuda is an American writer, comedian, producer and director best known as the sidekick, co-writer and friend of cult personality Andy Kaufman.... /Tony Clifton |
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| 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 If These Walls Could Talk 2 If These Walls Could Talk 2 is an Emmy Award-winning 2000 television movie in the United States, broadcast on HBO. It follows three separate storylines about lesbian couples in three different time periods... |
Ted Hedley | Television series; Segment: "1961" | ||
| Big Momma's House Big Momma's House Big Momma's House is a 2000 American crime comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell, written by Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer, and starring Martin Lawrence as FBI agent Malcolm Turner. The majority of the film took place in Cartersville, Georgia, but the film was shot on location in California. The... |
John Maxwell | Nominated – Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor – Comedy | |||
| Duets Duets An original motion picture soundtrack CD was released on September 12, 2000 by Hollywood Records. The CD contained twelve tracks including the original music composed for the film by David Newman.... |
Todd Woods | ||||
| 2001 | King of the Hill King of the Hill King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas... |
Mr. McKay | Television series; Episode: "It's Not Easy Being Green" | ||
| Storytelling Storytelling (film) Storytelling is a 2001 film, directed by Todd Solondz. It features original music by Belle & Sebastian, later compiled on an album of the same name... |
Toby Oxman | ||||
| Planet of the Apes Planet of the Apes (2001 film) Planet of the Apes is a 2001 American science fiction film, based on Pierre Boulle's novel and a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Tim Burton directed the film, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Estella Warren. It tells the... |
Limbo | ||||
| 2002 | Big Fat Liar Big Fat Liar Big Fat Liar is a 2002 American teen comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, written and produced by Dan Schneider and Brian Robbins, and starring Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes... |
Marty Wolf | |||
| Thunderpants Thunderpants Thunderpants is a 2002 family film about a boy whose incredible capacity for flatulence gets him a job as an astronaut. The film was directed by Pete Hewitt, whose previous work included Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and The Borrowers... |
Johnson J. Johnson | ||||
| 2003 | American Splendor American Splendor (film) American Splendor is a 2003 American biographical comedy-drama film about Harvey Pekar, the author of the American Splendor comic book series. The film is also in part an adaptation of the comics, which dramatize Pekar's life... |
Harvey Pekar Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a critically acclaimed film adaptation of the same name.Pekar described American Splendor as "an... |
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| Paycheck Paycheck (film) Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story of the same name by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. The film was directed by John Woo and stars Ben Affleck, Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart... |
Shorty | ||||
| Confidence | Gordo | ||||
| Anthony Russo | Television series | ||||
| 2004 | Sideways Sideways Sideways is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. Adapted from Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, Sideways follows two forty-something year old men, portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who take a week-long road trip to... |
Miles Raymond | |||
| 2005 | Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture... |
Host | Television series; Episode: 30x10 | ||
| Robots Robots (film) Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of... |
Tim the Gate Guard | ||||
| Narrator | |||||
| Cinderella Man Cinderella Man Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J... |
Joe Gould Joe Gould (manager) Joe Gould was an American boxing manager, best known for representing boxer James J. Braddock, who in 1935 upset Max Baer to take the world heavyweight championship.-Career:... |
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| 2006 | Asterix and the Vikings Asterix and the Vikings Asterix and the Vikings is an animated feature film, produced in France and Denmark, and directed by Stefan Fjeldmark and Jesper Møller. The story was adapted from the graphic novel Asterix and the Normans, which was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo... |
Asterix | English Dub | ||
| George Gattling | |||||
| Chief Inspector Uhl | |||||
| Lady in the Water Lady in the Water The soundtrack was composed by James Newton Howard. The last four tracks are non-soundtrack songs from singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost, Indie rock band A Whisper in the Noise, and rock 'n' roll revivalists Silvertide. Each of the four songs was written by Bob Dylan... |
Cleveland Heep | ||||
| Stan Beals | |||||
| Screw-On Head | Television series | ||||
| 2007 | Mr. X | ||||
| Shoot 'Em Up Shoot 'em up Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what... |
Karl Hertz | ||||
| Fred Claus Fred Claus Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:... |
Nicholas "Nick" Claus | ||||
| 2008 | John Adams John Adams (TV miniseries) John Adams is a 2008 American television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays John Adams. The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John... |
John Adams John Adams John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States... |
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| Pretty Bird Pretty Bird Pretty Bird is a 2008 American film. It competed in the Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:A sweet-natured guy enlists his pals to help him create and market his idea for a rocket-powered belt... |
Rick | ||||
| 2009 | Duplicity Duplicity (film) Duplicity is a 2009 American romantic comedy spy film written and directed by Tony Gilroy, and starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. The plot follows two corporate spies with a romantic history who collaborate to carry out a complicated con... |
Richard "Dick" Garsik | |||
| Cold Souls Cold Souls Cold Souls is a 2009 comedy-drama film written and directed by Sophie Barthes. The film features Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, and David Strathairn. Giamatti stars as a fictionalised version of himself, an anxious, overwhelmed actor who decides to enlist the service of a company to deep... |
Paul | ||||
| Dr. Satan | |||||
| Vladimir Chertkov Vladimir Chertkov Vladimir Grigoryevich Chertkov was a Russian writer and secretary of Leo Tolstoy, and one of the most prominent Tolstoyans.-Family and childhood:... |
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| 2010 | Barney's Version Barney's Version (film) Barney's Version is a 2010 Canadian comedy-drama film directed by Richard J. Lewis, based on the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler... |
Barney Panofsky | |||
| 2011 | Win Win Win Win (film) Win Win is a 2011 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Thomas McCarthy. Based on the story written by Joe Tiboni and Thomas McCarthy, it stars Paul Giamatti, Alex Shaffer and Amy Ryan.-Plot:... |
Mike Flaherty | |||
| Ironclad Ironclad (film) Ironclad is a 2011 action film directed by Jonathan English. Written by English and Erick Kastel, based on a screenplay by Stephen McDool, the cast includes Paul Giamatti, James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Mackenzie Crook, Jason Flemying, Derek Jacobi and Kate Mara. The film chronicles the siege of... |
King John | ||||
| The Hangover Part II | Kingsley | ||||
| Too Big to Fail | Ben Bernanke Ben Bernanke Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis.... |
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | |||
| Prohibition Prohibition (miniseries) Prohibition is a 2011 documentary film for television directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick with narration by Peter Coyote. It describes how alcohol and its effects were connected to many different cultural forces. Immigration, women's suffrage, the income tax, and the temperance movement led... |
Himself | ||||
| The Ides of March The Ides of March (film) The Ides of March is a 2011 American political drama thriller film directed by George Clooney from a screenplay written by Clooney, along with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon. The film is an adaptation of Willimon's 2008 play Farragut North... |
Tom Duffy | ||||
| 2012 | Cosmopolis Cosmopolis (film) Cosmopolis is an upcoming drama film starring Robert Pattinson and directed by David Cronenberg. It is based on the novel of the same name by Don DeLillo.-Cast:* Robert Pattinson as Eric Packer* Jay Baruchel as Shiner* Paul Giamatti as Benno Levin... |
Benno Levin | filming | ||
| Rock of Ages | Paul Gill | filming | |||
| John Dies at the End John Dies at the End John Dies at the End is a comedic horror novel written by Jason Pargin that was first published online as a webserial beginning in 2001, then as an edited manuscript in 2004 and printed paperback in 2007 via Permuted Press. An estimated 70,000 people read the free online versions before they were... |
Arnie Blondestone | Also producer |