Date of Birth : Jun 6th 1967
Giamatti’s first high profile role was in the film adaptation of Howard Stern’s Private Parts. He played Kenny “Pig Vomit” Rushton, Stern’s antagonistic program director at WNBC. Stern praised Giamatti’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 Giamatti’s career 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. Giamatti continued to featured in major studio releases such as Big Momma’s House (2000) with Martin Lawrence, the Planet of the Apes remake (2001), and in Big Fat Liar (2002) opposite Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes. In 2006 he appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller Lady in the Water, the animated film The Ant Bully, and Neil Burger’s drama The Illusionist co-starring Edward Norton. He is also the voice behind the audiobook of the novel A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick, released in the summer of 2006. Most recently he played Mr. Hertz in the action movie Shoot ’em Up and it was announced that he will play Santa Claus in the upcoming comedy Fred Claus (which also stars Kevin Spacey and Vince Vaughn), and will co-star alongside Bruce Campbell in Bubba Nosferatu, the prequel to Bubba Ho-tep. Giamatti will also play noted science fiction author Philip K. Dick in the semi-biopic The Owl In Daylight, which he is also producing through his production company, Touchy Feely Productions. He also played a role in the 1996 video game Ripper, where he portrayed the character of Dr. Bud Cable. He is also working on Pretty Birds which is a fictionalized retelling about the drama behind the invention of a rocketbelt.
He is most often confused in public with Rob Schneider. When he hosted a season 30 episode of Saturday Night Live (musical guest: Sum 41 with special guest Ludacris), there was a sketch reflecting this, where a limo driver (played by Finesse Mitchell) mistook him for several other actors, including former castmember Rob Schneider. Giamatti has commented on the fact that he often plays Jewish characters, but is almost never cast in Italian American roles.