If you turned on the TV any time during the early 2000s, you certainly remember the phrase, “Can you hear me now?” Cell service provider Verizon started running commercials in 2002 where they focused on the quality of cell service their company provided. The memorable catchphrase, always spoken by the same bespectacled man, stuck in people’s brains.
Within two years, Verizon’s customer base grew by ten percent, and Paul Marcarelli, the actor in the commercials, was one of the most recognizable faces on television. Marcarelli worked for Verizon for nine years, always saying that same catchphrase. He and Verizon were linked together in people’s minds — which is why it was so shocking when he showed up in a Sprint commercial in 2016.
Marcarelli’s contract with Verizon ended in 2011. He decided to step back from appearing in commercials, turning his talents to producing independent films and writing screenplays. “I was retired from commercials,” he said while appearing on the Surviving Hollywood podcast. “I was like ‘That’s a great run, don’t get greedy.’”
