Getty began his acting career at age 14 in 1989. He auditioned for the lead role in the movie Lord of the Flies after being spotted by a casting Director, Robin Joy Allan, in his art class at school. During the 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared in the films Young Guns II, Natural Born Killers, Judge Dredd, Mr. Holland's Opus, White Squall, Lost Highway, Big City Blues, The Center of the World, Deuces Wild, Ladder 49, Feast, and the television miniseries Traffic.
Paul Balthazar Getty was born in Tarzana, Los Angeles, and raised in San Francisco before being educated in the United Kingdom at Gordonstoun. His great-grandfather was J. Paul Getty, founder of Getty Oil, and at one time one of the richest men in the world. His grandfather was John Paul Getty, Jr.; his father was John Paul Getty III. His mother, Gisela (née Schmidt), is a German-born professional Photographer and documentary filmmaker. His parents divorced in 1993. He has a maternal half-sister, Anna (born 1972).
Getty guest-starred on the television series Charmed as Richard Montana, a male witch romantically linked with Paige Matthews. He appeared in the fifth season of the television show Alias as Agent Thomas Grace. He starred, alongside Alias costar Ron Rifkin, in the ABC prime time drama Brothers & Sisters, which first aired in September 2006. Getty played the role of Thomas "Tommy" Walker, third-born of the five Walker siblings.
In late 2008, media reports indicated Getty's contract as a full-time series regular in Brothers & Sisters would not be renewed due, in part, to budgetary and storyline considerations. In the Season 4 premiere, Getty was still listed in the principal cast, but he did not appear. Getty made his return to the series in the sixth episode of Season 4. Although he no longer appeared in every episode, he continued to make appearances on the show until its cancellation.
