Paul Marcarelli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Paul Marcarelli is an American actor best known as the "Test Man" character in commercials for Verizon Wireless. He always appears wearing a Verizon Wireless jacket, and appears in the commercials wearing his own horn-rimmed eyeglasses. He hails from New York City. Contrary to rumors, he was not discovered by a Verizon executive while waiting tables. By the time Marcarelli was cast as the Verizon Wireless “Testman” character for which Entertainment Weekly named him one of most intriguing people of 2002, he had already appeared in numerous commercials for companies like: Old Navy; Meryl Lynch; Dasani; and Heineken to name a few. He also performed in industrials, promos, and as a voiceover artist for Comedy Central, United Airlines, and Aetna Insurance among others. A founding member of New York's Mobius Group Productions, Marcarelli produced and performed in works by Eric Bogosian, Warren Leight, and Richard Nelson. Mobius' 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. As a screenwriter, his film, currently titled Sweet Flame, is slated for production in Spring 2007.^[1]