Paul Giamatti made his silver screen debut in the 1989 American horror film ‘I, Madman’ directed by Tibor Takács. Following his debut, he went on to star in films like ‘Past Midnight’ (1991), ‘Singles’ (1992), ‘Mighty Aphrodite’ (1995), ‘Before and After’ (1996), ‘Private Parts’ (1997), ‘Private Parts’ (1997), ‘The Truman Show’ (1998), and ‘Dr. Dolittle’ (1998). In 1998, he starred as ‘Sergeant William Hill’ in the American epic war film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ directed by Steven Spielberg. The film saw universal acclaim upon release and came to be regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. It was a major box office success and grossed over $485 million on a budget of $70 million. He was next seen in films such as ‘The Negotiator’ (1998), ‘Man on the Moon’ (1999), ‘Big Momma's House’ (2000), ‘Storytelling’ (2001), ‘Planet of the Apes’ (2001), ‘Big Fat Liar’ (2002), ‘American Splendor’ (2003), ‘Paycheck’ (2003), ‘Sideways’ (2004), and ‘Robots’ (2005). Giamatti received an ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his portrayal of ‘Joe Gould’ in the 2005 American biographical sports drama film ‘Cinderella Man’ directed by Ron Howard. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and currently holds an 88% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. He next starred in films like ‘Asterix and the Vikings’ (2006), ‘The Illusionist’ (2006), ‘The Ant Bully’ (2006), ‘The Nanny Diaries’ (2007), ‘Fred Claus’ (2007), ‘Pretty Bird’ (2008), ‘Duplicity’ (2009), and ‘The Last Station’ (2009).
In 2010, he played the role of ‘Barney Panofsky’ in the Richard J. Lewis-directed Canadian comedy-drama film ‘Barney's Version.’ The film opened to a positive reception and received a 78% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. Giamatti also won the ‘Golden Globe Award’ for his performance in the film. He continued to star in films like ‘Ironclad’ (2011), ‘The Ides of March’ (2011), ‘Rock of Ages’ (2012), ‘Cosmopolis’ (2012), ‘Turbo’ (2013), ‘Romeo & Juliet’ (2013), ‘12 Years a Slave’ (2013), ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ (2013), ‘River of Fundament’ (2014), and ‘Madame Bovary’ (2014). He portrayed ‘Dr. Eugene Landy’ in the 2014 American biographical drama film ‘Love & Mercy’ directed by Bill Pohlad. The film holds an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He was next seen in films like ‘Straight Outta Compton’ (2015), ‘April and the Extraordinary World’ (2016), ‘Morgan’ (2016), ‘I Think We're Alone Now’ (2018), ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’ (2018), ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’ (2021), and ‘A Mouthful of Air’ (2021). He last appeared in the 2022 two-part American documentary film ‘Benjamin Franklin’ directed by Ken Burns.