Giovanni Ribisi made his screen debut in the American fantasy drama television series ‘Highway to Heaven’ in 1985. He played the role of ‘Curtis Johnson’ and starred in 2 episodes of the show. That same year, he also starred as ‘Duffy Guthrie’ in the American sitcom ‘The New Leave It to Beaver’ developed by Brian Levant. The series ran for 4 seasons and aired its final episode in 1989. He continued to appear in television series and shows such as ‘Sidekicks’ (1986-1987), ‘My Two Dads’ (1987-1990), ‘Blossom’ (1991), ‘Davis Rules’ (1991-1992), ‘The Wonder Years’ (1992-1993), ‘Family Album’ (1993), ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ (1994), ‘The X-Files’ (1995), and ‘Friends’ (1995–98, 2003). Ribisi made his silver screen debut in the 1995 American horror film ‘Mind Ripper’ directed by Joe Gayton. The following year, he starred as ‘Chad’ in the Tom Hanks-directed American comedy film ‘That Thing You Do!’ The film amassed considerable praise from critics and has earned a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 1997, he appeared in the American post-apocalyptic action-adventure film ‘The Postman’ directed by Kevin Costner. The film was largely panned by critics and was a commercial disaster. Ribisi next portrayed ‘T-4 Medic Irwin Wade’ in the American epic war film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ directed by Steven Spielberg. The film saw universal acclaim upon release and is often considered one of the greatest war films of all time. It was also a massive commercial success, grossing over $485 million on a budget of $70 million.
He was next seen in films like ‘The Other Sister’ (1999), ‘It's the Rage’ (1999), ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’ (2000), ‘According to Spencer’ (2001), ‘Heaven’ (2002), ‘Masked and Anonymous’ (2003), ‘Lost in Translation’ (2003), ‘Flight of the Phoenix’ (2004), ‘The Big White’ (2005), ‘The Dead Girl’ (2006), ‘Perfect Stranger’ (2007), and ‘Middle Men’ (2009). In 2009, he played the role of ‘Parker Selfridge’ in the James Cameron-directed American epic science fiction film ‘Avatar.’ The film opened to a positive reception and was a phenomenal box office success, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time. He next starred in films like ‘The Other Side’ (2011), ‘Contraband’ (2012), ‘Ted’ (2012), ‘Gangster Squad’ (2013), ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ (2014), ‘Results’ (2015), ‘Ted 2’ (2015), ‘The Bad Batch’ (2016), and ‘A Million Little Pieces’ (2018). He was last seen playing the role of ‘Joe Colombo’ in the 2022 American biographical drama miniseries ‘The Offer’ created by Michael Tolkin. He is all set to appear in the upcoming American epic science-fiction film ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’