One of the most versatile and talented actors in motion pictures today is Paul Giamatti. His roll call of credits is vast and varied, including Straight Outta Compton, Private Parts, Saving Private Ryan, John Adams, Big Fat Liar, Cinderella Man and many others. He is a prolific chameleon who segues from comedy to drama with a flair and ease that most actors would envy.
In addition to his accomplishments as an actor, Paul graduated from Yale where he majored in English. He also obtained his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts, with his major in drama from the Yale University School of Drama. There is a definite reason why we think he chose to study at the Ivy League school.
His father also had a distinguished career. A Bartlett “Bart” Giamatti, was a professor of Renaissance Literature at Yale University, and went on to become the university’s youngest president. In 1986, Bart was appointed the president of baseball’s National League. He then became Commissioner of Baseball on April 1, 1989, and served for five months until his untimely death on September 1, 1989. He was the commissioner who banned Pete Rose for gambling on baseball.
This piece of trivia alone would be enough for AnswersJournal.com. In the 1998 remake of Doctor Dolittle, Paul portrayed a human in charge of a talking orangutan. In the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes, he portrays a talking orangutan in charge of humans.
So what does the movie Sideways have in common with Major League Baseball? There is only one time when father and son “worked together” professionally. In the film, a photograph of the main character Miles Raymond with his late father, the character that is played by Paul, is in fact a picture of Paul and his father Bart.