Biography
But that all began to change with his breakthrough supporting performance in "Mr. Saturday Night" (1992), which earned his first Academy Award nomination. Ever since that time, Paymer delivered noted turns in several prominent features, including "Quiz Show" (1994), for which he earned perhaps his greatest critical acclaim and showed filmmakers the depths he could take a performance, particularly as a villain. He continued to land interesting …
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Career Milestones
| Joined the Broadway production of "Grease" with Patrick Swayze and Treat Williams | ||
| Peformed and wrote stand-up comedy at the Improv and the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, CA with his older brother Steve | ||
| Performed in dinner theater and summer stock during college | ||
1976 | Professional debut as Sonny Latieri in the national touring company of "Grease" (date approximate) | |
1979 | Feature film debut as the cab driver in "The In-Laws" | |
1979 | Made TV debut on "Make Believe Marriage," an episode of "ABC Afterschool Specials" | |
1982 | Cast in recurring role of Asst. D.A. Todd Feldberg on "Cagney and Lacey" (CBS) | |
1984 | Teamed with brother Steve to write and produce "Best Man," an equity waiver play | |
1986 | Cast as Lieutenant Dave Kiner, the superior officer of star Michael Nouri on the short-lived cop/family drama "Downtown" (CBS) | |
1986 | Landed recurring role as Mr. Wallace on sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" (NBC, ABC) | |
1986 | Served briefly, with brother Steve, as a staff writer for the TBS sitcom sequel series "The New Leave It to Beaver" | |
1991 | Cast as series regular Arnie Metzger, the nervous brother-in-law of Michael Chiklis on Stephen J. Cannell's cop/family drama "The Commish" (ABC) | |
1991 | First collaboration with Billy Crystal, the hugely successful "City Slickers" | |
1992 | Cast as the second lead in Crystal's "Mr. Saturday Night"; earned Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor | |
1994 | Cast as Dan Enright in "Quiz Show" | |
1994 | Reprised role in "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold" | |
1995 | Appeared in "The American President" | |
1995 | Portrayed Ron Ziegler in the biopic "Nixon" | |
1997 | Landed featured role in Steven Spielberg's "Amistad" | |
1999 | Signed to make feature directorial debut with "Grace" | |
2000 | Played supporting role in "State and Main," written and directed by David Mamet; appeared alongside William H. Macy | |
2001 | Co-starred with Macy in "Focus"; screened at Toronto Film Festival | |
2003 | Cast in Rob Reiner's "Alex and Emma" | |
2005 | Portrayed Louis Howe in the HBO original movie "Warm Springs," which chronicled the life of president Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Kenneth Branagh) | |
2007 | Co-starred in the boxing film "Resurrecting the Champ" | |
2007 | Once again directed by Soderbergh with a minor role in "Ocean's Thirteen" | |
2009 | Appeared in Sam Raimi's thriller "Drag Me to Hell" | |
2009 | Played Judge Richard Cuesta on episodes of "The Good Wife" (CBS) | |
2012 | Cast opposite Jason Segel and Emily Blunt in romantic comedy "The Five-Year Engagement" | |
Awards
1992 | Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in Mr. Saturday Night |
1992 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in Mr. Saturday Night |
1996 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Crime of the Century |
1996 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Get Shorty |
1996 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Nixon |