James, Murphysboro, ILSubj: Who is that bespectled man?
Who is the bespectled actor in the Verizon commercials that always appears during NBA playoff games?
Superb question, James! The actor famous for uttering the line, “Can you hear me now?” is none other than Paul Marcarelli, a 37-year-old thespian from North Haven, Connecticut. A founding member of New York's Mobius Group Productions, Marcarelli has also appeared in national advertisements for Old Navy, Dasani, Heineken and Merrill Lynch, which is how he ended up on Verizon’s radar. According to Marvin Davis, the company’s vice president of advertising, "Our casting specifications called for an everyman with something quirky or memorable about them. We looked at over 1,000 people." In case you’re wondering, the black horn-rimmed spectacles that Marcarelli wears in the ads are indeed his very own glasses.
