Paul Giamatti has joined the small but impressive list of celebrities who were competitive swimmers before they achieved stardom, publicly discussing his past life in the pool during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
On the show to promote his upcoming film San Andreas, Giamatti talked about growing up in New Haven, Conn., as “the third-level backstroke guy” on his team. He doesn’t specify if the team was part of his high school or if it was a USA Swimming team.
Giamatti also briefly talked about a training trip to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the 1980s, and said he thought he might be a member of the Hall of Fame. Though a few Hollywood celebrities are among the illustrious group of inductees, Giamatti is not one of them. He and Kimmel shared some laughs over a common occurrence among swimmers: the process of shaving.
Though Giamatti didn’t earn acclaim as a competitive swimmer, he has become one of the most respected actors in the world. He received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in 2005’s Cinderella Man, and was praised for his work in such films as American Splendor, Sideways, Barney’s Version, and most recently 12 Years A Slave.
Paul Giamatti discusses his past as a competitive swimmer:
I have a past life as an actor.
I loved him as Sam Adams. Great historical series.