He's spent the bulk of his career playing soft, cowardly characters.

But Paul Giamatti was barely recognizable as the tattooed villain Rhino on the Manhattan set of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Saturday.

The Oscar-nominated 46-year-old looked slimmer than normal in a black Adidas track-suit over a white vest and a lot of gold jewelry.

Similar to a rhinoceros hide, the suit covers his entire body except for his face, and features two horns 'capable of penetrating two-inch plate steel.'

The transformation gives him extreme superhuman strength and endurance while he's clad in his 'thick, bulletproof polymer mat suit.'

Paul's character, also named Aleksei Sytsevich, is a 'dim' thug-for-hire working for an Eastern Bloc country, who volunteers for an experiment which bonds a super strong polymer to his skin.

The famously schlubby thespian added a serious edge to his appearance thanks to numerous tattoos, including a Frankenstein-style barb wire design across his bald forehead.

Super-villain: Paul Giamatti was barely recognizable as the tattooed villain Rhino on the Manhattan set of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Saturday

Tattooed thug: The Oscar-nominated 46-year-old looked slimmer than normal in a black Adidas track-suit over a white vest and a lot of gold jewelry

All smiles off-screen: Paul and the sequel's star Andrew Garfield hung out and happily chatted in between takes

In the driver's seat: The famously schlubby thespian added a serious edge to his appearance thanks to numerous tattoos, including a Frankenstein-style barb wire design across his bald forehead

Stop him! On Saturday, Giamatti joined the 29-year-old Englishman for an action scene involving and 18-wheeler truck and two Spidey stuntmen

The Columbia Pictures sequel - due out May 2 of next year - also stars Andrew Garfield, his real-life girlfriend Emma Stone, and Oscar winners Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, and Sally Field.

On Saturday, Giamatti joined the 29-year-old Englishman for an action scene involving and 18-wheeler truck and two Spidey stuntmen.

The sweaty Sideways star was seated behind the wheel of the rig while Spider-Man attempted to stop him from his evil deed.

The two-time Golden Globe winner didn't have to travel far from the Brooklyn Heights home he shares with his wife Elizabeth and 12-year-old son Sam.

Meet Rhino/Aleksei Sytsevich: Paul's character is a 'dim' thug-for-hire working for an Eastern Bloc country, who volunteers for an experiment which bonds a super strong polymer to his skin

Make believe: The two-time Golden Globe winner snarled inside a massive grey helmet covered in bright markers, which the CGI team will later replace with his Rhino suit