Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti ( ; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor. Giamatti began his career as a character actor before establishing himself in leading roles in film and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, along with a nomination for an Academy Award.
After studying acting at the Yale School of Drama he performed in numerous theatrical productions. Giamatti made his Broadway debut 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 Chekov's Three Sisters (1997) and Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (1999).
Giamatti's breakout role in film was in Private Parts (1997) which led to supporting 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), Private Life (2018), and The Holdovers (2023). He earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe Gould in Cinderella Man (2005). During this time he also acted in The Illusionist (2006), Fred Claus (2007), The Ides of March (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), and Saving Mr. Banks (2013). He also portrayed Eugene Landy in Love & Mercy (2014) and Jerry Heller in Straight Outta Compton (2015).
He played the titular character in the HBO miniseries John Adams (2008), which earned him acclaim and several awards including the Primetime Emmy Award a Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. He starred as U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades Jr in the Showtime television series Billions (2016–2023) earning a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination. He earned Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his roles as Ben Bernanke in the HBO film Too Big to Fail (2011), and Harold Levinson in the PBS series Downton Abbey (2013).
Early life and education
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born June 6, 1967, in New Haven, Connecticut, the youngest of three children. 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 Giamatti (née Smith), was a homemaker and English teacher who taught at Hopkins School and had also previously acted.
His paternal grandfather's family were Italian emigrants from Telese Terme; the family surname was originally spelled "Giammattei" () before immigrating to the United States. Giamatti's other ancestries are German, Dutch, English, French, Irish, and Scottish. His paternal grandmother had deep roots in New England, dating back to the colonial era. Giamatti's brother, Marcus, is also an actor, and his sister, Elena, is a jewelry designer.
Giamatti was first educated at The Foote School and later graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1985. He attended Yale, where he was active in the undergraduate theater scene and working with fellow actors and Yale students Ron Livingston and Edward Norton. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English, and 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 on Broadway and a stint from 1989 to 1992 with Seattle's Annex Theater, before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s. In 2023, Giamatti was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale.
Career
1989–2002: Early roles
Giamatti made his film debut in an uncredited role in the slasher film I, Madman (1989). He made his television debut in the ABC made for television film She'll Take Romance (1990). After minor roles in the neo-noir Past Midnight (1991) and the romantic comedy Singles (1992) he acted in Woody Allen's comedy film Mighty Aphrodite (1995) and Sydney Pollack's romantic comedy remake Sabrina (1995). That same year in March, he made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia portraying Ezra Chater. Vincent Canby describe the role as being "a helplessly funny subsidiary" one. In November he portrayed The Rev. Donald Bacon in David Hare's Racing Demon. Both of these productions took place at the Lincoln Center Theater.