After landing his second Oscar nomination on Tuesday morning for his starring turn in Alexander Payne’s dramedy _The Holdovers_, Paul Giamatti spoke with Deadline about the reasons horror is

currently at top of mind for him, the filmmakers active in that genre today that he’d most like to work with, his viral In-N-Out moment following the Golden Globes, a missed opportunity to

work with David Lynch, and more. Speaking to the genre filmmakers he admires, Giamatti named _Hereditary_‘s Ari Aster and _Nope_‘s Jordan Peele, though he gave particular focus to Zach

Cregger, who caught his attention with his 2022 breakout feature, _Barbarian_. “I thought that movie was really, really well done, and that’s kind of one of my favorite horror movies I’ve

just always had that thing, since I was a kid, and I think also, it’s such an amazing genre,” he reflected. “You can do so much in it, and get away with so much that you can’t in other

things.” WATCH ON DEADLINE RELATED: ‘KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’S LILY GLADSTONE MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST NATIVE ACTRESS OF AMERICAN DESCENT TO BE OSCAR NOMINATED Giamatti’s fellow nominees in

this year’s Oscars Lead Actor category include _Maestro_‘s Bradley Cooper, _Rustin_‘s Colman Domingo, _Oppenheimer_‘s Cillian Murphy and _American Fiction_‘s Jeffrey Wright. Previously

nominated for a supporting role in Ron Howard’s boxing drama _Cinderella Man_, he secured his second nom after winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden

Globes. RELATED: CILLIAN MURPHY ON BEST ACTOR ‘OPPENHEIMER’ OSCAR NOMINATION: “I FEEL REALLY PRIVILEGED AND LUCKY TO BE IN A FILM THAT’S CONNECTED WITH PEOPLE” Following that ceremony,

Giamatti was photographed at In-N-Out, celebrating with a burger. To his surprise, he saw the pic go viral, later poking fun at the moment while on stage to accept a Critics Choice Award.

“It was a funny experience. I’m glad people enjoyed it,” Giamatti shares of his five minutes in the online spotlight. “I’m fascinated by the whole idea of what goes viral and what doesn’t,

and I’m sort of puzzled as to why that did. But I’m happy that people enjoyed it, and you know, I love In-N-Out Burger, so it’s always a good plus to plug In-N-Out Burger.” RELATED: DIVERSE

OSCAR ACTING NOMINEES EVEN WITH LAST YEAR; ALL ARE FIRST-TIME NOMINEES While Giamatti says a third season of _30 Coins _is “in the offing,” and that he would “love to do a play” sometime

soon, he plans to take a moment to breathe after getting caught up in the whirlwind of awards season. If there’s one thing on his mind now, though, as far as a bucket list item he’d like to

cross off, it would be to find the right project to work on with David Lynch. “I had a chance to work with David that didn’t happen, and I wish someday that would come around again, that

chance,” Giamatti shares. “It was that _Twin Peaks_, the recent one, the one on Showtime, and it just couldn’t work out logistically. It was really, really frustrating and I was like,

‘You’re kidding me. We can’t figure this out?'” RELATED: ‘PAST LIVES’ HELMER CELINE SONG ON BREAKTHROUGH AT OSCARS WITH FIRST FEATURE & WOMEN DIRECTORS’ NEW BEST PICTURE RECORD

Looking to the future, Giamatti would also of course jump at the chance for another reteam with Payne, who in addition to_ The Holdovers_, directed him in one of his most iconic

performances, in the wine country dramedy _Sideways_. “I would do anything that guy wants me to do, anytime,” he says. “He’s the best director I’ve ever worked with. I think he’s one of the

greatest American directors alive, and so hopefully, yes, we’ll do more. I’ll do anything he wants.” RELATED: WOMEN FILMMAKERS SET OSCAR NOMINATION RECORD IN BEST PICTURE CATEGORY _The

Holdovers _today scored five Academy Award nominations, including Supporting Actress for Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Original Screenplay for David Hemingson. Others recognized included editor

Kevin Tent and producer Mark Johnson who is repping the pic in the category of Best Picture. RELATED: ‘ANATOMY OF A FALL’ & ‘THE ZONE OF INTEREST’ MAKE OSCAR HISTORY AS ACADEMY REVEALS

MOST INTERNATIONAL BEST PICTURE SELECTION EVER Released by Focus Features in October after premiering at Telluride, the film follows Paul Hunham (Giamatti), a teacher at a prestigious

academy who nobody likes — not his students, not his fellow faculty, not the headmaster, who all find his pomposity and rigidity exasperating. With no family and nowhere to go over Christmas

holiday in 1970, Paul remains at school to supervise students unable to journey home. After a few days, only one student holdover remains — a trouble-making teenager Angus (newcomer Dominic

Sessa), whose bad behavior always threatens to get him expelled, despite the fact that he’s an exceptional student. RELATED: OSCAR DOCUMENTARY NOMINATIONS SHOCKER: ‘AMERICAN SYMPHONY’ &

MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE SNUBBED, WHILE INTERNATIONAL FILMS DOMINATE Joining Paul and Angus is the school’s head cook Mary (Randolph), who caters to sons of privilege and whose own son was

recently killed in Vietnam. These three very different shipwrecked people form an unlikely Christmas family sharing comic misadventures during two very snowy weeks in New England. The real

journey is how they help one another understand that they are not beholden to their past — that they can choose their own futures. RELATED: OSCAR SCORECARDS: NOMINATIONS BY FILM AND

DISTRIBUTOR Sharing that he was “flabbergasted” by the love that both the film and his performance have gotten, he says he knew that people would like the pic, but was surprised by the

extent of the response. “I think it’s such a basic story of connection,” he said. “It’s a very, very simple story about human connection, people helping each other, and I think people just

are responding to it. It’s very warm, in its way.” RELATED: OSCARS: EVERY BEST PICTURE WINNER BACK TO THE BEGINNING IN 1929 RELATED: EVERY BEST ACTOR WINNER BACK TO 1927 RELATED: OSCARS:

EVERY BEST ACTRESS WINNER SINCE 1929