Editing Paul Giamatti (section)

=== 1989–2002: Early roles ===
He made his television debut in the ABC made for television film ''[[She'll Take Romance]]'' (1990). After minor roles in the neo-noir ''[[Past Midnight]]'' (1991) and the romantic comedy ''[[Singles (1992 film)|Singles]]'' (1992) he acted in [[Woody Allen]]'s comedy film ''[[Mighty Aphrodite]]'' (1995) and [[Sydney Pollack]]'s romantic comedy remake ''[[Sabrina (1995 film)|Sabrina]]'' (1995). That same year in March, he made his [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut in [[Tom Stoppard]]'s ''[[Arcadia (play)|Arcadia]]'' portraying Ezra Chater. [[Vincent Canby]] describe the role as being "a helplessly funny subsidiary" one.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/31/theater/theater-review-arcadia-stoppard-s-comedy-of-1809-and-now.html|title= THEATER REVIEW: ARCADIA; Stoppard's Comedy Of 1809 And Now|work= The New York Times|date= March 31, 1995|accessdate= September 11, 2023|last1= Canby|first1= Vincent}}</ref> In November he portrayed The Rev. Donald Bacon in [[David Hare (playwright)|David Hare]]'s  ''[[Racing Demon (play)|Racing Demon]]''. Both of these productions took place at the [[Lincoln Center Theater]]. 

In 1997, Giamatti landed his first high-profile role as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton in the film adaptation of [[Howard Stern]]'s ''[[Private Parts (1997 film)|Private Parts]]''. Stern praised Giamatti's performance often on [[The Howard Stern Show|his radio program]], calling for him to be nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]]. [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' described Giamatti's performance as being "well played".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/private-parts-1997|title= Private Parts movie review|website= Rogerebert.com|accessdate= September 11, 2023}}</ref> That same year he reunited with Woody Allen, acting in the comedy ''[[Deconstructing Harry]]'' (1997). He also took a small but memorable role as Richard the Bellman in the [[Julia Roberts]]-led romantic comedy ''[[My Best Friend's Wedding]]'' (1997). That same year he returned to Broadway, playing Andrei Prozorov in the revival of [[Anton Chekov]]'s ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]''.  

In 1998, Giamatti appeared in Season 6, Episode 15 of “''[[Homicide: Life on the Street]]."'' He played Harry Tjarks, who raised pit bulls and was more concerned about his dogs than the fact that they had mauled his grandfather to death. He also appeared in a number of supporting roles in the big-budget films including [[Peter Weir]]'s drama ''[[The Truman Show]]'', [[Steven Spielberg]]'s [[World War II]] drama ''[[Saving Private Ryan]],'' and the action thriller ''[[The Negotiator]]''. In 1999, he played [[Bob Zmuda]] and [[Tony Clifton]] in [[Miloš Forman]]'s [[Andy Kaufman]] biopic, ''[[Man on the Moon (film)|Man on the Moon]]''. Giamatti continued working steadily during the early 2000s by appearing in major studio releases including ''[[Duets (film)|Duets]]'' (2000), ''[[Big Momma's House]]'' (2000), ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' (2001) and ''[[Big Fat Liar]]'' (2002).