Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an
American actor and
comedian. Giamatti began his career as a supporting actor in several films produced during the 1990s including
Private Parts,
The Truman Show,
Saving Private Ryan,
The Negotiator, and
Man on the Moon, before earning lead roles in several critically acclaimed projects in the 2000s including
American Splendor, Sideways,
Cinderella Man,
John Adams, and
Cold Souls.
Early life
Giamatti was born and raised 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 a homemaker and English teacher who taught at
Hopkins School and had also previously acted.
Giamatti's mother was
Irish American;
[Interview previously available at www.sundayherald.com/57083] his paternal grandfather, Valentine Giamatti, was an
Italian American, of parentage from
Telese, and his paternal grandmother, Mary Claybaugh Walton, was from a
New England family.
