Top 5 Paul Giamatti Movies

by Helen Earnshaw | 9 October 2013

Paul Giamatti in Romeo and Juliet

Paul Giamatti is one of the best actors working in Hollywood and has delivered some fantastic performances over the years.

Giamatti is back this week as he is set to take on the role of Friar Laurence in the new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet: a movie that sees him star alongside Douglas Booth, Hailee Steinfeld and Damien Lewis.

We take a look at some of the best movies of Giamatti's career so far.

- Cinderella Man

Released in 2005 and directed by Ron Howard, Cinderella Man follows the story of James Braddock: a washed up boxer who battles back to become a champion.

Giamatti takes on the role of Braddock's long time manager and friend Joe Gould, in what remains one of the best performances of his career.

Cinderella Man is one of the best boxing movies to hit the big screen as this film is very much about all of the characters involved.

Giamatti has a fantastic on screen relationship with Russell Crowe - who plays Braddock - and you really sees the friendship and the respect shine through.

Giamatti went on to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his fantastic performance.

- Sideways

Giamatti teamed up with Alexander Payne in 2005 for comedy/drama Sideways. The movie was a big screen adaptation of the novel by Rex Pickett.

The movie follows friends Miles (Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church) as they embark on a weekend road tip to California's wild country, to sow their wild oats before Jack gets married.

Sideways is an intelligent, funny and moving film that is driven forward by wonderful performances from both Giamatti and Church.

This really is a great character study about getting older, friendship and the characters view themselves.

Sideways is a movie that really sees Payne as well as the entire cast on top form - this really is a film that you should check out if you have not seen it.

- Win Win

Another acclaimed performance from Giamatti came in the form of Win Win: which saw the director team up with director Thomas McCarthy.

Giamatti takes on the role of Mike Flagerty, a lawyer and part-time wrestling coach whose life is turned upside down when a client's troubled grandson walks into his life.

Win Win is a successful movie because of its rich story that focuses on relationships and family dynamics. But it is also a film about winning and the importance of second chances.

Giamatti has a knack of the everyman or the ordinary guy so well, and Win Win sees him deliver another of those performances.

And while Mike may be an ordinary guy, Giamatti shines in this central role.

- American Splendor

Giamatti took on the role of Harvey Pekar in American Splendor, the biopic film about the American Splendor comic book series.

Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini this movie is a clever portrait of Pekar and really highlights and respects the creative processes that he went through to create his work.

This is an ambitious movie but it is also a film that is both charming and funny.

Giamatti is just wonderful in the role of Pekar and has a great on screen chemistry and partnership with Hope Davis.

- Barney’s Version

Barney's Version is a big screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler and sees Richard J. Lewis in the director's chair.

This movie is the touching and fully tale about the life of Barney Panosky: played by Giamatti.

Barney is a man that is perhaps would not be easy to like in less capable hands, but Giamatti makes him incredibly compelling.

Giamatti was nominated for Best Actor - Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes, while the film was in the running for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.