Paul Giamatti Biography American actor Paul Giamatti established himself as one of the most respected actors in independent film when he had back to back starring roles in American Splendor and Sideways. He was then nominated for his first Oscar with Cinderella Man, and he can currently be seen in the hit miniseries John Adams. Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born June 6, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut. His parents were A Bartlett Giamatti and Toni Smith, a Yale professor and homemaker respectively. Giamatti’s mother also dabbled in both teaching and acting. Giamatti obtained his initial education from Humberside Collegiate Institute. He followed with The Foote School, and shortly after, the Choate Rosemary Hall boarding school. Following in his familial tradition, Giamatti obtained his secondary education from Yale University. Graduating in 1989 with a BA in English, Giamatti’s classmates included Edward Norton and Ron Livingston. Giamatti also pursued his Master’s work at Yale in the school of drama. With a varied and thorough education under his belt, Giamatti began auditioning for roles. By 1990, he had landed his onscreen debut in the television film She’ll Take Romance opposite Linda Evans and Tom Skerritt.
Taking a variety of bit parts, it took nearly seven years before Giamatti was able to break into the mainstream. This occurred with the outrageous and sometimes vulgar 1997 comedy Private Parts. Playing Kenny “Pig Vomit” Rushton, the film starred Howard Stern and Mary McCormack. Earning increasingly visible roles, Giamatti is also noted for his comedic turn in The Truman Show with leads Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, and Natascha McElhone. Beginning to show up in his more characteristically dramatic parts, Giamatti also played a role in Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed Saving Private Ryan. One of a star-studded cast, he shared the screen with everyone from Tom Hanks to Giovanni Ribisi to Matt Damon. Once again jumping genres, Giamatti also had a large role in the action thriller The Negotiator with Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey followed by a role in Man on the Moon, which once again teamed up Giamatti and Carrey. After more fame boosting parts, Giamatti was launched into the spotlight with his lead role as Harvey Pekar in American Splendor. Although many considered his lack of an Oscar nomination a snub, he still won a deluge of critical acclaim, as did his costar Hope Davis.
The following year, he solidified himself as a formidable acting force when he appeared in the Oscar winning film Sideways. Starring with Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh, Giamatti was once again passed over for the Oscar nod to the shock of many. But 2005 finally proved his year. Playing Joe Gould to Russell Crowe’s Jim Braddock, Giamatti secured his first Oscar nomination. Continuing to pump out hits, Giamatti appeared in The Illusionist, Lady in the Water, and Fred Claus. He can currently be seen as the title character in the HBO series John Adams. In his personal life, Giamatti married Elizabeth Cohen in 1997. They are currently still together, and they welcomed their first child in 2001. He and his family currently reside in Brooklyn Heights. | 
