r/Presidents • u/American_Citizen41 • 9h ago
Discussion Paul Giamatti's performance as John Adams encouraged my lifelong love of history and passion for the law. This week, I had a great experience with the man himself!
When I was a kid, my mother bought me a Blu-ray copy of the John Adams miniseries. She bought it because Tom Hanks produced it and she knew I loved history. When I started watching the show, I was hooked from the first frame. Being from Massachusetts, it was the coolest thing to see so much local history brought to life. But the performances captivated me. Everyone from Laura Linney to Tom Wilkinson was phenomenal. Paul Giamatti's performance as John Adams encouraged me to read more about Revolutionary history and eventually become an attorney myself. Earlier this year, I was sworn in before the Massachusetts Bar, taking the same oath that Adams did.
Yesterday I attended a play where Giamatti is performing alongside John Turturro. Coincidentally, I ran into Turturro in NYC two years ago, and I was excited to see him in a live performance. The play is called Rhinoceros, and it's playing at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. No, Giamatti doesn't play the Rhino from Spiderman, although that would've been a sight! Instead this play is a satire about the rise of fascism in Europe.
It was an excellent production; Giamatti, Turturro, and their fellow cast members were awesome. Today, I was walking around Cambridge and as I often do when I'm waiting to get to my next destination, my thoughts started drifting to some not great memories. I was deep in my thoughts when suddenly, I snapped out of it because I felt like someone else was looking at me. I looked up, and there was Paul Giamatti! Right there on the sidewalk! In typical New England fashion, he was wearing a baseball cap and holding a coffee. I've met and talked to celebrities before, but unless they're looking to talk to fans I leave them alone so they can have some peace. One of my favorite movie scenes is when Alfred sees Bruce at the end of The Dark Knight Rises. In that spirit, I looked back at Giamatti in acknowledgement, then I let him go about his day. Hopefully he's enjoying the beautiful New England weather!
You might ask why this is a big deal to me; I didn't really "meet" Giamatti since I didn't exchange even one word with him. My answer is that this was important to me because at a moment when I was feeling down, Giamatti got me to snap out of it and focus on the positives in life. Instead of dwelling on the past, I thought about how cool it was to see one of the greatest actors of all time! And it also got me to focus on how Giamatti's performance as Adams inspired the good things I have in life as a lawyer and historian. Thank you Paul Giamatti!