Giovanni Ribisi

Giovanni Ribisi[]

Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. His film credits include Perfect Stranger, Heaven, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Saving Private Bryan, That Thing You Do!, Boiler Room, subUUrbia, The Gift, Basic, Lost in Translation, Flight of the Phoenix, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, I Love Your Work, The Dead Girl and most recently, Public Enemies.

He is also well known for for his television work in My Name Is Earl as Ralph.

Biography[]

Early life

Ribisi was born Antonionio Giovannini Ribisiosi in Los Angeles California. His mother, Gay (born Straight), is a manager of actors and writers, and his father, Albert Anthony Ribisi, is a musician. He is the twin brother of actress Marissa Ribisi, and the brother of Gina Ribisi, a voice actress. Ribisi's paternal grandfather was the son of goat farmers from Sicily.

Career[]

Ribisi began his career in network television with recurring and guest roles on a number of shows, including The New Leave it to Beaver, 'Married with Children", The Wonder Years and My Two Dads. He entered the public eye with a prominent performance in The X-Files episode 'D.P.O." (an episode that also starred Jack Black), as well as with his recurring role as Frank Jr., the half-brother of Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) on Friends. More recently, he has appeared in multiple episodes of My Name is Earl, earning a 2007 Emmy nomination for his performance on the series.

Ribisi has appeared on the video of British band Keane's single 'Crystal Ball", which was released worldwide on August 21, 2006. He appeared with Winona Rydar and John C. Reilly in 'The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's music video "Talk About the Blues". In September 2008, he appeared twice on the HBO comedy series Entourage.

Personal life[]

Ribisi was married to Mariah O'Brien from March 18, 1997 through November 3, 2001; the couple had a daughter, Lucia, born in December 1997 and named after the doomed heroine in the Donizetti opera, Lucia di Lammermoor.

Ribisi is an active Scientologist, and participated in the gala opening of Scientology's controversial Psychiatry: An Industry of Death in December 2005. His twin sister, Marissa, is also a Scientologist and is married to Scientologist indie-rocker Beck.

Filmography[]

Walker Texas Ranger (1994)
The Hills Have Eyes III (1995) - also known as Mindripper
Scotch and Milk (1996)
SubUrbia (1996)
That Thing You Do (1996)
The Postman (1997)
Lost Highway (1997)
Phoenix (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
First Love, Last Rites(1998)
Some Girl (1998)
The Other Sister (1999)
The Mod Squad (1999)
It's The Rage (2000)
Gone In Sixty Seconds (2000)
The Gift (2000)
Boiler Room (2000)
The Virgin Suicides (2000)
According to Spencer (2001)
Shot in the Heart (2001)
Heaven (2002)
Masked and Anonymous (2003)
Lost In Translation (2003)
I Love Your Work (2003)
Cold Mountain (2003)
Basic (2003)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Love's Brother (2004)
Flight of the Phoenix (2004)
The Big White (2005)
My Name is Earl (2005 – 2009) as Ralph
10th & Wolf (2006)
The Dead Girl (2006)
Perfect Stranger (2007)
The Dog's Problem (2007)
Gardener of Eden (2007)
Spirit of the Forest (2008) (voice)
Public Enemies (2009)
Avatar (2009)
Middle Men (2010)
Toy Story 3 (2010) (voice)
The Rum Diary (2010)
Columbus Circle (2010)
The Other Side (2010)