"Can You Hear Me Now?"

Paul Marcarelli, the gay actor known for years as the Verizon “Test Man,” is finally free to talk, now that his restrictive nine-year contract with the company is nearing an end.

The Huffington Post reports on an interview Marcarelli gave to The Atlantic.

“His silence, he told The Atlantic, was more or less required as part of his contract with Verizon,” reports HuffPo. “Since the company has informed him that the curtain will soon fall on the ‘Test Man’ character, Marcarelli now feels comfortable speaking about the role.”

According to Marcarelli, his silence came with a price, for instance, when he felt unable to report homophobia.

“Marcarelli also recounted several incidents in which neighborhood youths drove by his house and yelled homophobic taunts. Once he considered filing a police report, but changed his mind because he was unsure about exposing himself as Verizon’s ‘Test Man.’”

Now, according to the interview, Maracarelli is pursuing personal projects and even saying goodbye to his signature black horn-rimmed glasses.