Giamatti, Paul Edward Valentine (1967– )

US actor. Known for his skill as a character actor, he often plays awkward, anxious outcasts, and appeared in a number of supporting roles before gaining international acclaim for his leading role in Alexander Payne's comedy Sideways (2004).

Acting in a range of both independent and mass-market films, he had supporting roles in the films Safe Men (1998), Man on the Moon (1999), Big Momma's House (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), Big Fat Liar (2002), and Paycheck (2003). His first major starring role was as the real-life file clerk and comic-book writer Harvey Pekar in the film American Splendor (2003).

He received his bachelor's degree and a master's in fine arts in drama from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He went on to take a number of lead roles in theatrical productions on Broadway, including The Three Sisters (1997) and The Iceman Cometh (1999). His first major film role was in US disc jockey Howard Stern's autobiographical film Private Parts (1997). He also starred in television films including Winchell (1998), If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000), and The Pentagon Papers (2003).