Paul Marcarelli

Paul Marcarelli
Marcarelli in 2017
Born (1970-05-24) May 24, 1970
North Haven, Connecticut
Alma mater Fairfield University, B.A.
Occupation Film, voice actor, screenwriter

Paul Marcarelli (born May 24, 1970) is an American actor, best known as the spokesperson for Verizon. Previously, he was the ubiquitous "Test Man" character in commercials ("Can you hear me now?") for Verizon Wireless. He appeared in all of his Verizon commercials wearing a gray Verizon jacket and his own horn-rimmed glasses until 2011.[1] [2]

Early life and education

Marcarelli is a native of North Haven, Connecticut and graduated from North Haven High School. Marcarelli then received his bachelor's degree in English from Fairfield University in 1992[3] where he was a member of Theatre Fairfield, the resident production company.[4]

Acting career

A founding member of New York's Mobius Group Productions in 1998, Marcarelli produced and performed in works by Eric Bogosian, Warren Leight, and Richard Nelson.[5] Mobius's production of The Adding Machine, in which he played the lead role, garnered the award for excellence in overall production from the New York International Fringe Festival in 2001; and his 2005 production, Bridezilla Strikes Back! starring Cynthia Silver, which The New York Times called "irresistible,"[6] won the Fringe's overall excellence award for outstanding solo show.

Marcarelli is also a founding member of the Table Ten Films production company.[7] He co-wrote the storyline for the 2011 independent film The Green, for which he also wrote the screenplay.[8]

Marcarelli wrote and produced the feature film Clutter, starring Carol Kane and Natasha Lyonne. The film won Best Film at the Harlem International Film Festival and was nominated for the New American Cinema Award in 2013.[9]

Advertising career

In 2002 Marcarelli started appearing as the "Test Man" character in Verizon Wireless commercials,[7] for which Entertainment Weekly named him one of the most intriguing people of 2002.[10] In October 2009, he appeared on The Price Is Right during the showcase sponsored by Verizon Wireless.[11] In February 2011, he revived his role as the Verizon test man in a commercial advertising the release of the iPhone 4 for Verizon.

In April 2011 Marcarelli was informed by email that Verizon was moving in a new direction with their advertising campaign. He remained under contract but would no longer play "Test Man".[5] Marcarelli was glad that he was able to move on from it.[12]

Prior to Verizon, Marcarelli had already appeared in numerous commercials for companies including Old Navy, Merrill Lynch, Dasani, T-Mobile and Heineken. He also performed in industrial and promotional films, and as a voiceover artist for Comedy Central, United Airlines and Aetna Insurance, among others.

As of 2016 Marcarelli is now working as a Sprint spokesman and often refers to his switch from Verizon to Sprint in the commercials in which he appears. [13]

Personal life

He is married to his husband Ryan Brown, who appeared with Paul in a Sprint ad.[14]

Marcarelli has a twin brother, Matthew, who was a highly decorated firefighter and Assistant Chief of Operations at the New Haven Fire Department is now Fire Chief in the Town of East Haven after serving 22 years in New Haven. Matthew also was a member of the New Haven 20, a group of firefighters who successfully proved discrimination before the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark case Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557 (2009).

References

  1. ↑ Howard, Theresa (22 February 2004). ""Can You Hear Me Now?" a Hit". USA Today. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
  2. ↑ "Verizon's `Can you hear me now' guy now at Sprint".
  3. ↑ Fenster, Jordan (13 October 2011). "Guilford's Verizon guy makes film about being gay in Connecticut". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  4. ↑ "Life After Fairfield: Paul Marcarelli '92". fairfield.edu. Fairfield University. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Morgan, Spencer (13 April 2011). "Hear Me Now?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  6. ↑ Zinoman, Jason (16 August 2005). "Fringe Festival Reviews; 'Bridezilla Strikes Back!'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  7. 1 2 Harris, Elizabeth A. (18 April 2010). "He Tested the Market". The New York Times. p. RE2. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  8. ↑ Fine, Marshall (21 October 2011). "Interview: Creators talk about gay drama, The Green". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  9. ↑ "Clutter". www.clutterthemovie.com. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  10. ↑ "Scout Awards 2002". Entertainment Weekly. 3 January 2003. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  11. ↑ "FULL RECAP - TPiR 10/12/2009". golden-road.net. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  12. ↑ Cina, Mark (14 April 2011). "Verizon Phases Out 'Can You Hear Me Now?' Guy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  13. ↑ Baig, Edward C. (June 6, 2016). "Verizon's 'Can you hear me now' guy now at Sprint". USA Today. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ Paul Marcarelli [@paulmarcarelli] (November 28, 2016). "Just a couple of dudes buyin' a Christmas tree. Sprint commercial with my husband @RBCateringNY" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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