Few actors have made their presence in a movie mean as much as Paul Giamatti.
The one-two punch of “American Splendor” (2003) and “Sideways” (2004) propelled the Brooklyn resident to unlikely leading-man status. Since then, he has stood out by playing difficult parts in unconventional projects, taking on everyone from John Adams to Cleveland Heep, protagonist of M. Night Shyamalan’s much-maligned “Lady in the Water.”
Giamatti’s charisma has rarely been more deeply felt than it is as luckless-in-love Barney Panofsky in the film adaptation of beloved Canadian author Mordecai Richler’s “Barney’s Version,” opening Friday. That role has already earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
amNY spoke with the 43-year-old actor.
Do you think Barney is a jerk? I suppose he doesn’t conform to any sort of heroic mold that maybe you’re supposed to have in movies or something. ... There [are] worse people in the world. Frankly, too, the jerky aspects to him were some of the most appealing stuff as an actor to play.
Given that Richler is such a Canadian icon, did you ever question why you, an American, were cast? The first thing I said to the producer and the director when I met them was, “There’s no Canadian actor you want to have do this?” It wasn’t self-deprecating; it was a genuine question.
What’s it like to have Dustin Hoffman play your father? It was surreal in some ways to be sitting there acting with him playing my father. He’s a really great guy. He has an unbelievable energy, enviable — it would be a wonderful thing to have when I’m that age. I don’t know that I ever will.
With all the work you do, how do you keep things fresh? I’m lucky that I have choices, which helps. One of the reasons I like being an actor, and always have, is not knowing what I’m going to do next. Variety is a kind of goal, actually, for me.
What do you make of awards season? It’s a little insane. It’s definitely kind of crazy — maybe excessive, I don’t know. But yeah, it’s totally flattering — and the best thing about it is, for a movie like this, it raises the profile of [it]. That’s actually the most actively interesting thing to me about it.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
