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Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. He began acting in films during the 1990s, appearing in several supporting performances, and came to fame in the early 2000s, after his roles in the well-received films Sideways and American Splendor.
Early life
Giamatti was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, A. Bartlett Giamatti, was a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Smith, was an English teacher who taught at Hopkins School and had also previously acted. Giamatti's mother was Irish American, while his paternal grandfather, Valentine Giamatti, was an Italian American, of parentage from Telese, and his paternal grandmother was Mary Claybaugh Walton, whose ancestors lived in New England. He has a brother, Marcus, who is also an actor.
Giamatti attended Humberside Collegiate Institute as a young boy and says the reason he started acting was because of a red haired temptress named Luka. Giamatti attended the 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. Actors Ron Livingston and Edward Norton were classmates and fellow collegiate actors. Following his graduation, 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 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). In 2006 he appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's supernatural thriller Lady in the Water, the animated film The Ant Bully, and Neil Burger's drama The Illusionist co-starring Edward Norton. He is also the voice behind the audiobook of the novel A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick, released in the summer of 2006. Most recently it was announced that he will play Santa Claus in the upcoming comedy Fred Claus (which also stars Kevin Spacey and Vince Vaughn), and will co-star alongside Bruce Campbell in Bubba Nosferatu, the prequel to Bubba Ho-Tep. Giamatti will also play noted science fiction author Philip K. Dick in the semi-biopic The Owl In Daylight, which he is also producing through his production company, Touchy Feely Productions.
He is most often confused in public as Rob Schneider. When he guest hosted for Saturday Night Live, he had a sketch reflecting this. Giamatti has commented on the fact that he often plays Jewish characters, but is almost never cast in Italian American roles.
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), but was not nominated for an Oscar in one of the most mystifying and well-publicized snubs in recent Oscar history, made more baffling since Sideways received nominations in several other noteworthy categories. Giamatti received his first Academy Award-nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for his role in Cinderella Man (a nomination that, while deserved, was generally considered a kind of apology for the snub of the previous year). He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the SAG award for Best Supporting Actor for the film. However, he lost both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award to George Clooney in Syriana. (Upon winning the Golden Globe, Clooney commented in his acceptance speech that he had expected Giamatti to win the award that evening.) Giamatti has also been nominated for and won several critics' awards.
According to the Internet Movie Database, Giamatti has been nominated for 35 separate awards between 2001 and 2006, and has won 22 of them.
Filmography
1. She'll Take Romance (1990) (TV)... Heckler #2
2. Past Midnight (1992)... Larry Canipe
3. Singles (1992)... Kissing Man
4. NYPD Blue (1994)... Man In Sleeping Bag (episode \"You Bet Your Life\")
5. Mighty Aphrodite (1995)... Extras Guild Researcher
6. New York News (1995)... Dr. Wargner (episode \"Past Imperfect\")
7. Sabrina (1995)... Scott
8. Ripper (1996)... Dr. Bud Cable (video game)
9. Before and After (1996)... Courtroom Audience (uncredited)
10. The Show (1996)... Jeffrey Roffman (pilot episode)
11. Breathing Room (1996)... George
12. Arresting Gena (1997)... Detective Wilson
13. Donnie Brasco (1997)... FBI Technician
14. Private Parts (1997)... Kenny \"Pig Vomit\" Rushton
15. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)... Richard the Bellman
16. Deconstructing Harry (1997)... Professor Abbot
17. A Further Gesture (1997)... Hotel Clerk
18. Homicide: Life on the Street (1998)... Harry Tjarks (episode \"Pit Bull Sessions\")
19. Tourist Trap (1998) (TV)... Jeremiah Piper
20. The Truman Show (1998)... Control Room Director
21. Dr. Dolittle (1998)... Blaine (uncredited)
22. Saving Private Ryan (1998)... Sergeant Hill
23. The Negotiator (1998)... Rudy Timmons
24. Safe Men (1998)... Veal Chop
25. Winchell (1998) (TV)... Herman Klurfeld
26. Cradle Will Rock (1999)... Carlo
27. Man on the Moon (1999)... Bob Zmuda/Tony Clifton
28. If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000) (TV)... Ted Hedley (segment \"1961\")
29. Big Momma's House (2000)... John
30. Duets (2000)... Todd Woods
31. King of the Hill (2001)... Mr. McKay (episode \"It's Not Easy Being Green\")
32. Storytelling (2001)... Toby Oxman (segment \"Non-Fiction\")
33. Planet of the Apes (2001)... Limbo
34. Big Fat Liar (2002)... Marty Wolf
35. Thunderpants (2002)... Johnson J. Johnson
36. American Splendor (2003)... Harvey Pekar
37. Confidence (2003)... Gordo
38. The Pentagon Papers (2003) (TV)... Anthony Russo
39. Paycheck (2003)... Shorty
40. Sideways (2004)... Miles Raymond
41. Saturday Night Live (2005)... Host (episode 30.10)
42. Robots (2005)... Tim the Gate Guard (voice)
43. The Fan and the Flower (2005)... Narrator
44. Cinderella Man (2005)... Joe Gould
45. The Hawk Is Dying (2005)... George Gattling
46. Asterix and the Vikings (English dubbing: voice of Asterix, 2006)
47. The Illusionist (2006)... Chief Inspector Uhl
48. Lady in the Water (2006)... Cleveland Heep
49. The Ant Bully (2006)... Stan Beals (voice)
50. The Amazing Screw-On Head (TV) (2006)... Screw-On Head (voice)
51. The Nanny Diaries (2007)... Mr. X
52. The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (2007)... Dr. Satan (voice)
53. Shoot 'em Up (2007)... Mr. Hertz
54. Tender Interface (2007)
55. John Adams (miniseries) (2007)... John Adams
56. Fred Claus (2007)... Santa Claus
57. Bubba Nosferatu (2008)... Colonel Parker
58. The Last Station (2008)
59. The Owl In Daylight (release date unknown)... Philip K. Dick
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