Top 35 Paul Giamatti Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “It is because my dad died suddenly that I became an actor. I thought, I’m going to make money doing this thing I enjoy.”

— Paul Giamatti

2. “I like playing weird, kind of shady people.”

— Paul Giamatti

3. “I married a Jewish lady, and we’re raising our son Jewish, and since I’m not Jewish the whole thing is just a mystery to me. I leave it to her, actually, because it’s just a great mystery.”

— Paul Giamatti

4. “Well, you know, when people say stuff about you, it’s always really flattering. But does it mean anything to me? It’s not really real to me; there’s no reality to it.”

— Paul Giamatti

5. “I get tired of myself pretty fast.”

— Paul Giamatti

6. “I don’t think I gave a good enough performance to be nominated for it. I thought I gave a fine performance, but those things are supposed to be about giving an extraordinary performance.”

— Paul Giamatti

7. “I get tired of myself pretty fast. So I can’t imagine other people don’t get tired of me.”

— Paul Giamatti

8. “Maybe it’s because I have too much pride or self-respect, but I thought, ‘Why does a guy who has thinning hair and who is overweight have to be a loser or a joke?’”

— Paul Giamatti

9. “I was the youngest child and got a lot more freedom than my brother and sister. I used to wander, doing my own thing under the radar, but I didn’t get in bad, bad trouble.”

— Paul Giamatti

10. “I still want to be the guy who can get on the subway and check out the freak on the subway.”

— Paul Giamatti

11. “I’m not a big wine guy. And bars, I never go to bars anymore. It’s such a drag, man.”

— Paul Giamatti

12. “I don’t consider myself a very interesting person. I have the mentality of a supporting actor.”

— Paul Giamatti

13. “I definitely had a top-notch education.”

— Paul Giamatti

14. “You are absolutely free to describe me as a turtle or something.”

— Paul Giamatti

15. “I like to work – I probably work too much.”

— Paul Giamatti

16. “I wouldn’t say that I’m aggressive in going out to find work and stuff like that. I just sort of, if something comes along, and it’s something I like, and they want to hire me, I’ll do it. I won’t just do anything.”

— Paul Giamatti

17. “I always would be happy to make a character even more unlikable, but you know, there’s a limit and if you go there, you get into a very different kind of movie, man.”

— Paul Giamatti

18. “Academia is a rarified culture, especially an Ivy League academic background.”

— Paul Giamatti

19. “I don’t mind being stereotyped in some way and playing certain kinds of guys, but if I can find something to occasionally get a break from that, that would be nice. And I feel like I manage to.”

— Paul Giamatti

20. “I think that deep down all I have been looking for is to be accepted and liked by as many people as possible.”

— Paul Giamatti

21. “I suppose there must be some way in which I’m compelled to show some side of myself – or of people – that’s paranoid and fraught and beleaguered and downtrodden, just as Tom Cruise wants to show that he’s terrifyingly upbeat and terrifyingly heroic all the time.”

— Paul Giamatti

22. “I think I have a tendency to overwork things. I have a hard time finding that sweet spot that most actors seem to be able to hit where they’re doing the exact right amount of work, not overthinking, not underdoing it. I seem to either overdo it or underdo it.”

— Paul Giamatti

23. “Lead roles are fun, but I’m especially happy other, more colorful supporting stuff has come along.”

— Paul Giamatti

24. “As an actor, to have achieved financial stability is amazing. But I always have this weird fear that I’m not going to get any more work; it’s about not having enough money.”

— Paul Giamatti

25. “I don’t mind talking about acting. I don’t have anything interesting to say about it, but it’s interesting talking about it.”

— Paul Giamatti

26. “I’d like to have permanent time off, really. The goal is financial security and permanent time off, basically.”

— Paul Giamatti

27. “I’ve very critical of myself, and film has been an adjustment for me.”

— Paul Giamatti

28. “I don’t think film actors need training, really.”

— Paul Giamatti

29. “Acting can be a really silly thing. It’s like playing dress-up.”

— Paul Giamatti

30. “I’ve got to be the geekiest guy in the world in a lot of ways. I’m like a zeta male.”

— Paul Giamatti

31. “I definitely have a tendency to only see the blemishes of things, and see lots of things about my acting that I don’t like.”

— Paul Giamatti

32. “The broad comedy thing is really hard to do on film.”

— Paul Giamatti

33. “I’m clearly not Brad Pitt, and I’m never going to be Brad Pitt.”

— Paul Giamatti

34. “I never thought I would have any particular career in movies at all.”

— Paul Giamatti

35. “I mean, I’m not going to play the hero of something.”

— Paul Giamatti

36. “I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve gotten kind of soft as an actor, not doing stage stuff. In terms of being a better actor, it’s really important.”

— Paul Giamatti

37. “I learned how to fire a sniper rifle, which I’m sure will be useful at some point.”

— Paul Giamatti