Paul Giamatti
Biography
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (/ˌdʒiːəˈmɑːti/JEE-ə-MAH-tee; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globes, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award.
After studying acting at the Yale School of Drama, he performed in numerous theatrical productions. Giamatti debuted on Broadway, 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 film role was in Private Parts (1997), followed by 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 Planet of the Apes (2001), The Illusionist (2006), Fred Claus (2007), The Ides of March (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Love & Mercy (2014), and Straight Outta Compton (2015). He has earned Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Joe Gould in Cinderella Man (2005) and Best Actor for playing a disgruntled teacher in The Holdovers (2023).
On television, Giamatti played the role in the HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), earning 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). He 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). In the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror episode Eulogy (2025), he played a grieving lover.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Giamatti, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
Saving Private Ryan
as Sergeant Hill 1998
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
as Aleksei Sytsevich 2014
12 Years a Slave
as Theophilus Freeman 2013
The Hangover Part II
as Kingsley 2011
San Andreas
as Dr. Lawrence Hayes 2015
Jungle Cruise
as Nilo 2021
The Illusionist
as Inspector Uhl 2006
Robots
as Tim the Gate Guard (voice) 2005
Donnie Brasco
as FBI Technician 1997
Planet of the Apes
as Limbo 2001
Straight Outta Compton
as Jerry Heller 2015
Turbo
as Chet (voice) 2013
Saving Mr. Banks
as Ralph 2013
Doctor Dolittle
as Blaine (uncredited) 1998
The Little Prince
as The Academy Teacher (voice) 2015
My Best Friend's Wedding
as Bellman 1997