Paul Giamatti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Giamatti
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![]() Giamatti in 2024
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Born |
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti
June 6, 1967 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
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Education | Yale University (BA, MFA) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1989–present |
Spouse(s) |
Elizabeth Cohen
(m. 1997, divorced) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) |
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Relatives | Marcus Giamatti (brother) |
Awards | Full list |
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is a well-known American actor. He has won many awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globes. He has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award.
Paul Giamatti studied acting at the Yale School of Drama. He started his career in theater, performing in many plays. He later became famous for his roles in movies and TV shows.
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Early Life and Education
Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born on June 6, 1967, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the youngest of three children. His father, A. Bartlett Giamatti, was a professor at Yale University. He later became the president of Yale and then the commissioner of Major League Baseball. Paul's mother, Toni Marilyn Giamatti, was a homemaker and an English teacher. She also used to act.
Paul's family on his father's side came from Italy. His paternal grandmother's family had lived in New England since the early colonial times. Paul's brother, Marcus Giamatti, is also an actor. His sister, Elena, was a jewelry designer.
Paul went to Yale University, where he was very involved in student theater. He worked with other actors like Ron Livingston and Edward Norton. He earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1989. After college, he performed in many plays, including some on Broadway. He also worked briefly as an animator. Paul then returned to Yale and earned a master's degree in fine arts from the Yale School of Drama in 1994.
Career Highlights
Starting Out in Acting (1989–2002)
Paul Giamatti began his acting career in television in 1990. He had small roles in movies like Singles (1992) and Mighty Aphrodite (1995). In 1995, he made his Broadway debut in the play Arcadia.
In 1997, Paul got a bigger role as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton in the movie Private Parts. He also appeared in My Best Friend's Wedding and Deconstructing Harry. The next year, he had supporting roles in major films like The Truman Show and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. In 1999, he played Bob Zmuda in Man on the Moon. Paul continued to work steadily in the early 2000s, appearing in movies such as Planet of the Apes (2001) and Big Fat Liar (2002).
Becoming a Well-Known Actor (2003–2015)
Paul Giamatti started to receive a lot of praise for his acting in 2003. This was after his main role in the film American Splendor. In 2004, he became widely recognized for the movie Sideways. His performance in Sideways earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
After Sideways, Paul appeared in Cinderella Man (2005). For this role, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also won a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2006, he starred in Lady in the Water and The Illusionist.
In 2008, Paul Giamatti won an Emmy Award and his first Golden Globe Award for his role as John Adams in the HBO miniseries John Adams. Critics highly praised his performance in this historical drama.
He won his second Golden Globe in 2010 for his role in the film Barney's Version. He also starred in the comedy-drama Win Win (2011), which received positive reviews.
In 2013, Paul returned to the stage at Yale University to play the main role in Shakespeare's Hamlet. He also had supporting roles in several films that year. These included the animated movie Turbo, Saving Mr. Banks, and the highly praised 12 Years a Slave. He also appeared in the TV series Downton Abbey.
In 2014, Paul played the villain The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. He also portrayed psychologist Eugene Landy in the film Love & Mercy (2015). In 2015, he played N.W.A manager Jerry Heller in Straight Outta Compton.
Recent Work (Since 2016)
From 2016 to 2023, Paul Giamatti played a main role in the Showtime series Billions. He played Chuck Rhoades, a U.S. Attorney. The show was very popular.
In 2018, he starred in the film Private Life alongside Kathryn Hahn. The movie was released by Netflix and received good reviews.
Paul Giamatti reunited with director Alexander Payne for the film The Holdovers (2023). In this movie, he played a grumpy teacher. His performance was highly praised by critics. For his role in The Holdovers, Paul Giamatti was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor.
In 2023, Paul Giamatti received an honorary degree from Yale University. In 2024, it was announced that he would star in a TV series based on the Hostel film series.
Wax Paul Now Campaign
Paul Giamatti is the focus of a popular online campaign called "Wax Paul Now." This campaign wants the actor to have a wax statue made of him at Madame Tussauds. The movement gained national attention when Giamatti talked about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Madame Tussauds New York announced that they would host a party for Giamatti in March 2018. They said they would create a wax statue if a petition on Change.org got 500,000 signatures in nine days. The petition did not reach enough signatures in time, so the "Wax Paul Now" campaign is still ongoing.
Personal Life
Paul Giamatti lives in Brooklyn, New York. He was married to Elizabeth Cohen from 1997 until sometime in the 2000s. They have one son named Samuel. Paul Giamatti is an atheist, but he has said that his wife is Jewish and he is fine with his son being raised in the Jewish faith.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Paul Giamatti para niños