Paul Raci (; born April 7, 1948) is an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

. A veteran of stage, film and television, he has appeared in a variety of projects, including small roles in ''

Baskets A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...

'' and ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

''. In 2021, he was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

for his performance in ''

Sound of Metal ''Sound of Metal'' is a 2019 American drama film directed and co-written by Darius Marder. It stars Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer who loses his hearing, and also features Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci, Lauren Ridloff, and Mathieu Amalric. ''Sound ...

'' (2019). In the same year, he was selected by BJ Sam the Nigerian international singer and producer to represent the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the first universal

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

project with other global music icons including Bollywood playback singer

Jaspinder Narula Jaspinder Narula ( pa, ਜਸਪਿੰਦਰ ਨਰੂਲਾ; born 14 November 1970) is an Indian singer of playback, classical and Sufi music. She is known for her work in Hindi and Punjabi cinema. In 2021 she was selected by BJ Sam the Ni ...

, Swiss actress Christina Zurbrügg, and Ghanaian singer Diana Hopeson.

Life and career

Raci was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Laurel and Mitchell Raci. His family is of Polish descent, originally surnamed Racibożyński. He was raised as the hearing son of deaf parents, and is fluent in

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

. Raci was a

Hospital Corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, attaining the rank of

Petty Officer Second Class Petty officer second class is the fifth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, just above petty officer third class and below petty officer first class, and is a non-commissioned officer. It is equivalent to the rank of ser ...

(HM2). He served aboard the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

, the USS ''Coral Sea'' (CVA-43) from 1969 to 1973, serving two tours in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Raci received critical acclaim for his performance as Joe, the deaf mentor to the main character in ''

'', released in 2020. For this role, he received the

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual film award given by the National Society of Film Critics. The awards was given for the first time in 1968 (honoring films of 1967). Winners * † = Winner of the A ...

and other accolades, including an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, and nominations for both the

BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performan ...

and the

. According to director

Darius Marder Darius Marder is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor from Massachusetts. He is known for directing and co-writing '' Sound of Metal'', for which he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film rec ...

, several high-profile actors were approached for the role, but for the sake of authenticity, Raci was selected because of his upbringing.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raci, Paul 1948 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American people of Polish descent Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male winners Military personnel from Chicago United States Navy corpsmen United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War United States Navy non-commissioned officers