Nivola graduated from Yale University with a BA in English in 1994 and a year later made his Broadway debut opposite Helen Mirren in "A Month in the Country" earning a Drama Desk Award nomination. Shortly after that came his breakthrough performance in John Woo’s feature film "Face/Off" (1997) playing Nicolas Cage’s brother Pollux Troy. In the ensuing years he has starred in many films including "Mansfield Park" (1999), "Love’s Labour’s Lost" (2000), "Jurassic Park 3" (2001), "Laurel Canyon" (2002 - Independent Spirit Award nomination), "Junebug" (2005), "Goal! 1" & "2" (2005, 2007), "Coco Before Chanel" (2009), "Ginger & Rosa" (2012), "American Hustle" (2013 - Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics Choice Award), "A Most Violent Year" (2014), "Selma" (2014 - Critics Choice Award nomination), "The Neon Demon" (2016), "One Percent More Humid" (Best Actor Award 2017 Tribeca Film Festival), "You Were Never Really Here" (2017), "Disobedience" (2017 - British Independent Film Award, London Critics Circle Film Award nomination), "The Art of Self Defense" (2019), and "The Red Sea Diving Resort" (2019).