Paul Marcarelli was born on 24 May 1970, in North Haven, Connecticut USA, of Italian and Irish descent. He is an actor, screenwriter and producer, perhaps best known for appearing in numerous commercials for Verizon Wireless, portraying the ubiquitous “Can You Hear Me Now Guy”.
So just how rich is Paul Marcarelli now? Sources state that Marcarelli has collected a fortune of over $10 million, as of early 2017, from his acting, screenwriting and producing career, most largely his involvement in the Verizon commercials, which began in the early 1990s.
Paul Marcarelli Net Worth $10 Million
Paul grew up in North Haven, the youngest of four siblings, attending North Haven High school, and later enrolled at Fairfield University, in Connecticut, obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in English in 1992. While at college, he was a member of the resident production company, Theatre Fairfield.
In 1998, Marcarelli co-founded the non-profit theater company called Mobius Group in New York, producing and performing in various projects. He played the lead role in the company’s 2001 production of “The Adding Machine”, which received the Award for Overall Excellence at the New York International Fringe Festival. In 2005, he produced the critically-acclaimed “Bridezilla Strikes Back!”, winning the Fringe’s Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show. He has also co-produced and appeared in other productions of the company, such as Warren Leight’s “The Loop”, Richard Nelson’s “Jitterbugging” and Eric Bogosian’s “Scenes From The New World”.
Aside from Mobius, Marcarelli also co-founded the production company called Table Ten Films in New York City. He wrote the screenplay for the 2011 feature film called “The Green”, which was named a finalist in the 2009 NewFest NewDraft Screenwriting Competition. In 2013 he co-produced the documentary film “I Am Divine”, and executive produced the 2015 documentary “The Royal Road”. Marcarelli then wrote the screenplay for the 2016 film “Clutter”, which was nominated for the New American Cinema Award and The Women Film Critics Circle Award, winning Best Feature at Harlem International Film Festival. All added to his net worth.
However, despite his involvement in all these projects, Marcarelli is definitely best known for his involvement in a host of Verizon Wireless commercials, portraying the ubiquitous “Test Man”, with his line “Can you hear me now? Good.” becoming a catchphrase that would define Marcarellis’s career, and turn him into an advertising legend. After taking up the gig in 2002, he was immediately named one of the most intriguing people of 2002 by Entertainment Weekly. Marcarelli starred in all Verizon commercials all the way up until 2011, wearing his own horn-rimmed glasses and a gray Verizon jacket. His last role as the Verizon test man was in the 2011 commercial advertising the release of the iPhone 4, after which his tenure with the company was ended.
His ten years of being the Verizon pitchman has enabled Marcarelli to reach a high level of recognition and success and a significant net fortune as well. However, the catchphrase that made him so popular, also became his downfall in a way, as it began to cause issues in his private life. Reportedly, people started to bother him with the catchphrase all the time and on, even the most inappropriate occasions, such as at his grandmother’s funeral, when someone whispered it as her casket was being lowered into the grave. Also, people drive by his home and yell the catchphrase, sometimes with gay slurs at the end.
As of 2016, Marcarelli has become the face of Sprint, one of Verizon’s competitors, upgrading his popularity level and improving his fortune once again.
Speaking of his off-camera life, Marcarelli is gay; he and his husband since 2014 – Ryan Brown – live in Marcelli’s hometown of North Haven.
