Paul Marcarelli - wikipedia Paul Marcarelli Paul Marcarelli ( 1970 - 05 - 24 ) May 24, 1970 ( age 47 ) North Haven, Connecticut Alma mater Fairfield University, B.A. Occupation Film, voice actor, screenwriter 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. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Acting career 3 Advertising career 4 Personal life 5 References 6 External links 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. Marcarelli wrote and produced the feature film Clutter, starring Carol Kane and Natasha Lyonne. The film won Best Film at the Harlem International Film Festival and was nominated for the New American Cinema Award in 2013. 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. In April 2011 Marcarelli was informed by email that Verizon was moving in a new direction with their advertising campaign. He remained under contract but would no longer play `` Test Man ''. Marcarelli was glad that he was able to move on from it. 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 refers to his switch from Verizon to Sprint in the commercials in which he appears. Personal Life Marcarelli 's 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 discrimination before the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark case Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557 ( 2009 ). References Jump up ^ Howard, Theresa ( 22 February 2004 ). `` '' Can You Hear Me Now ? '' a Hit ``. USA Today. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Verizon 's ` Can you hear me now ' guy now at Sprint ''. Jump up ^ Fenster, Jordan ( 13 October 2011 ). `` Guilford 's Verizon guy makes film about being gay in Connecticut ''. New Haven Register. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Life After Fairfield : Paul Marcarelli ' 92 ''. fairfield.edu. Fairfield University. Retrieved June 20, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Morgan, Spencer ( 13 April 2011 ). `` Hear Me Now ? ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017 - 02 - 15. Jump up ^ Zinoman, Jason ( 16 August 2005 ). `` Fringe Festival Reviews ; ' Bridezilla Strikes Back ! ' ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Harris, Elizabeth A. ( 18 April 2010 ). `` He Tested the Market ''. The New York Times. p. RE2. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ Fine, Marshall ( 21 October 2011 ). `` Interview : Creators talk about gay drama, The Green ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Clutter ''. www.clutterthemovie.com. Retrieved 2017 - 07 - 28. Jump up ^ `` Scout Awards 2002 ''. Entertainment Weekly. 3 January 2003. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ `` FULL RECAP - TPiR 10 / 12 / 2009 ''. golden-road.net. Retrieved February 16, 2017. Jump up ^ Cina, Mark ( 14 April 2011 ). `` Verizon Phases Out ' Can You Hear Me Now ? ' Guy ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014 - 10 - 22. Jump up ^ Baig, Edward C. ( June 6, 2016 ). `` Verizon 's ' Can you hear me now ' guy now at Sprint ''. USA Today. Retrieved October 4, 2016. Jump up ^ Paul Marcarelli ( @ paulmarcarelli ) ( November 28, 2016 ). `` Just a couple of dudes buyin ' a Christmas tree. Sprint commercial with my husband @ RBCateringNY '' ( Tweet ) -- via Twitter. External links Paul Marcarelli on IMDb Clutter website Table Ten Films website Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Marcarelli&oldid=804552019 '' Categories : American male film actors American male voice actors American male screenwriters Fairfield University alumni Gay actors LGBT entertainers from the United States Living people Male actors from New York ( state ) Verizon Communications people 1970 births Spokespersons Corporate mascots Sprint Corporation people 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors People from North Haven, Connecticut Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 9 October 2017, at 19 : 07. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: when did the verizon guy switched to sprint
Answer: 2016