Paul Giamatti

Paul Giamatti is an American actor known for Sideways, Cinderella Man, The Holdovers and his portrayal of Chuck Rhoades in Billions. He received Academy Award nominations for Cinderella Man and The Holdovers, and won an Emmy for playing the title role in John Adams.

Giamatti is particularly good at showing the effort behind a person's public composure. Chuck can present an argument in the language of duty while letting a private grievance become increasingly visible. The humour comes from how seriously he takes himself, without requiring the audience to dismiss his intelligence.

That mixture of ability, irritation and vulnerability gives Giamatti room to work across very different films. Sideways and The Holdovers both make use of his capacity to play a difficult man without making every feeling difficult to recognise.

His television work also includes Harold Levinson in Downton Abbey, Ritchie in 30 Rock and Philip in the Black Mirror episode “Eulogy”.

Read the Billions review for more on Chuck's contest with Damian Lewis's Axe.