| Intro | American actor |
| Is |
Actor Screenwriter |
| From | United States of America |
| Type | Film, TV, Stage & Radio |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 24 May 1970, North Haven |
| Age: | 50 years |
Paul Marcarelli is an American actor best known as 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. He now appears as a spokesman for the Sprint network.
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 where he was a member of Theatre Fairfield, the resident production company.
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. 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,” won the Fringe’s overall excellence award for outstanding solo show.
Marcarelli is also a founding member of the Table Ten Films production company. He co-wrote the storyline for the 2011 independent film The Green, for which he also wrote the screenplay.
Advertising career
In 2002, Marcarelli started appearing as the “Test Man” character in Verizon Wireless commercials, for which Entertainment Weekly named him one of the most intriguing people of 2002. In October 2009, he appeared on The Price Is Right during the showcase sponsored by Verizon Wireless. In February 2011, he revived his role as the Verizon test man in a commercial advertising the release of the iPhone 4 for Verizon.
Marcarelli’s contract with Verizon ended as of April 14, 2011, by mutual agreement. Marcarelli had gotten tired of fans asking him his catch phrase attached to gay slurs, while Verizon was ready for a new advertising campaign.
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 mentions his switch from Verizon to Sprint in the commercials in which he appears.
Personal life
Marcarelli now lives in his home town with his two cats, Piper and Dusty. His husband’s name is Ryan, who also appeared with Paul in a Sprint ad.
Marcarelli has a twin brother, Matthew, who is a highly decorated firefighter and the current Assistant Chief of Operations at the New Haven Fire Department. Matthew also was a member of the New Haven 20, a group of firefighters who successfully alleged reverse-discrimination before the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark case Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557 (2009).