Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti, (born June 6, 1967) is an American actor. His father was A. Bartlett Giamatti, a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Smith, was an actress. Paul's brother Marcus is also an actor. He is most often confused in public as Rob Schneider. When he guest hosted for SNL, he had a sketch reflecting this.

Paul Giamatti attended the elite boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall, was an English major at Yale, and has a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama. Following his graduation, he performed in numerous theatrical productions (including Broadway) before appearing in some small television and film roles in the early 1990s.

His first high profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard Stern's Private Parts. Paul Giamatti played Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, Howard's antagonistic program director at WNBC. Howard praised Paul's performance often on his radio program, calling for him to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That didn't happen, but Paul's career certainly received a boost. He appeared in a number of supporting roles in big-budget movies such as The Truman Show, Saving Private Ryan, and The Negotiator (all 1998). In 1999 he played Bob Zmuda (and Tony Clifton) in the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon. Paul Giamatti continued to appear in major studio releases such as Big Momma's House (2000) and the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and co-starred in Big Fat Liar (2002).

Paul's most acclaimed performances were in lead roles in American Splendor (2003) and Sideways (2004).

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