Paul Giamatti

A year ago he was a complete stranger to the majority of the public, one more among those thousands of extras from any movie. And I say extras, because in most of his works he didn’t even reach the level of secondary actor. It was just that insecure colleague, the one with the appearance of Calimero, the archetype of the picnic, with the air of a redneck and a sweet potato face… However, little piece of paper after little piece of paper, Paul Giamatti has managed to forge a serious career and gain more minutes in the movies, to the point of becoming the key piece. A clear example of that zenith in his career are the recent comedies American Splendor and Sideways ., where he brings out an enviable talent to embody depressed types, intelligent social waste, irredeemable loners, geniuses in their own way, and who have both ash and funny. For this reason, perhaps Giamatti is one of the actors who has best known how to be the man of the empty, frustrated and idealless society that often reigns in our time.

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born on June 6, 1967, in New York, and as can be seen from his name, he is Italian-American through and through. His father, Bart, was a professor of Renaissance Literature at Yale University, of which he became president. He also presided over the National Baseball League. His mother, Toni, worked as an actress before getting married. Paul is the youngest of three brothers, the oldest of whom, Marcus, is also an actor. His sister Elena is in the jewelry business. Paul studied at Choate Rosemary Hall, and after graduating he went off to college (Yale, of course) to study philology, later majoring in acting at the Yale University School of Drama. He began doing his first steps in the theater, in university performances or in Broadway productions,

His first film appearance was in Shadows of the Past (1992), a dark thriller starring Rutger Hauer . From that moment on, her presence is lavished on the screen, but always with minimal roles, so much so that sometimes her name is not even reflected in the credits – Singles (1992), Powerful Aphrodite (1995), Sabrina (and her loves ) (1995), Before and After (1996)–, and it was not until his presence in Donnie Brasco (1997), when he began to steal a few more minutes in the movies. Thus, we remind her of something else in her roles from Pig Vomit for Private Parts (1997), by Professor Abbott forDismounting Harry (1997), from the unit director for The Truman Show (1998) or from Sergeant Hill to Saving Private Ryan (1998). The truth is that, taking advantage of the brevity of his appearances, he did roles like cakes, to the point that one year he came to shoot up to seven films. In October 1997 he married Elizabeth Cohen and in 2001 they had their first child, Samuel.

Little by little – it is the law of life and also the obligations of his new marital status – he began to space out his work more. At the same time, these become more important, more dense: Man on the Moon (1999), This grandmother is a danger (2000),  Things that are not forgotten  (2001) or Planet of the Apes (2001) are significant examples . . He later stood out as the Fatty of the Edward Burns gang in the lively Confidence (2003), and later as Shorty, Ben Affleck ‘s close friend in the entertaining Paycheck .(2003). And so until she received the offer to play the protagonist of some American comics, as original as they were outlandish. His composition by Harvey Pekar in American Splendor (2003) is simply masterful, endearing, laughable, pathetic, and above all authentic as life itself. The awards make an appearance for the first time in Giamatti’s career, and they will only prepare the great explosion that will take place later with Between the Cups(2004), the great revelation of last year. Impossible not to forget Miles Raymond, impossible not to taste California wine with him, impossible not to get depressed, impossible not to feel the loneliness of a man without love. A stellar role that has made him a star, although fame does not attract this great actor too much: “Calling attention has never been the objective of my work. Nothing changes between drinks . I’ve never wanted to be more than a good supporting actor. I really enjoy it.” And so do we, I think so. Soon we will see him play Joe Gould in the boxing biopic Cinderella Man , starring Russell Crowe , and among his most anticipated projects is The Girl from the Water, the next of M. Night Shyamalan , where he will be the headliner along with Bryce Dallas Howard .