Paul Giamatti Tells The Incredible Story Of His Fake Burger King For Life Card

Actor Paul Giamatti has shared a wonderful story of a Burger King for Life card that was not all that it seemed. Appearing on Stephen Colbert's late night TV show, the Oscar nominated actor explained how he thought he received a lifetime supply of free burgers for doing voiceover in a Burger King commercial, but it wasn't until later that he discovered something was amiss.

"I called up my agent and said, 'So, now that I've done this, do I get free Burger King for life?' And she said, 'You know what, I'll ask.' I was kidding," he said. "But the next thing I know, a couple of days later, I get this FedEx envelope, I rip that baby open, I look inside, I can't see--I reach down there. And all that's in there. All that's in there--no messages, nothing--is this little titanium beautifully finished black credit card. Smoooth. And it's got this embossed black crown on it. And it says nothing on it. And I was like, 'Holy f**k, I have a Burger King for life card.'"

Giamatti said he didn't think the Burger King for life card was real--and it turns out his instincts would be right in the end (we'll get to that). Giamatti said only 12 people on Earth had such a card, including George Lucas, Robert Downey Jr., Hugh Laurie, and Jennifer Hudson. He said he dreamed of calling a meeting of the card-holders and working together to order all the Whoppers in the world to help solve world hunger. He went to bed that night thinking everything was looking up for his burger-fueled future.

"I was up all night. And then next morning I woke up and all I could do was just stare at this thing, it was so beautiful," Giamatti said of the card.

But then, he had a startling revelation. He noticed a serial number on the back of the card. And when he looked up what it meant--disaster. It was only a $100 gift certificate to Burger King. "I have never fallen so far and hard and fast," he says of the discovery.

But Giamatti isn't totally despondent. He came up with a plan to utilize the card in a responsible and probably healthier way to still get burgers for life. "My plan is to go every now and then, for however long i have left on God's green earth, and get myself a Whopper. I'm going to stretch that f**king thing out, and it's like I have a Burger King for life card," he said.

What a tale. And you really need to watch the video to get the effect, as Giamatti puts his acting chops on display as the tells the riveting tale.