Commercials are everywhere and they are a part of our daily life whether we like it or not. Some commercials make a lasting impression on us and we often remember the faces of actors that appear in them. We see them almost every day, in the commercials that air in-between our favorite TV shows.
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But the fact is, we don’t know anything about them! In our mind, we only connect them to luxury cars, insurance plans, cell phone networks, ice cream, or even beer – but who are the people behind the smiling faces in commercials? Ever wondered what these people are up to in real life?
Jesse Heiman – GoDaddy
One of the most memorable commercials from 2013 was the Super Bowl GoDaddy ad featuring Jesse Heiman and the supermodel Bar Refaeli locking lips and sharing am an intimate kiss. The commercial aired during the first quarter of the second most-watched TV event ever and 111 million viewers saw it all around the world. Jesse is actually an actor, and his TV and movie career is actually doing pretty good after the legendary commercial.
Isaiah Mustafa – Old Spice
Back in 2010, Isaiah gained sudden fame for his appearance in Old Spice’s advertising campaign, which featured his crazy monologues. These commercials were a humongous success all over the globe. Before appearing in commercials, Mustafa was an NFL player, but these days he makes most of his money from acting and appearing in new Old Spice ads, of course.
Diane Amos – Pine-Sol
Diane Amos is well known for promoting a cleaning product called Pine-Sol for over twenty years now. Diane is still working as the Pine-Sol Lady, but she is also working as a stand-up comedian.
John Hodgman – Apple
John appeared in Apple’s “Get a Mac” ad campaign that was on the air from 2006 to 2010. In the commercial, he plays the personification of a PC. In the ad, he argues with the personification of a Mac, and they are debating which operating system is better. Unsurprisingly, Apple’s OS comes out on top in the disputes, but it was Hodgman’s delightful charm and wit that made these ads memorable. Hodgman’s career is now going very well, as he’s now a successful actor, writer and appears on multiple comedy shows.
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Wendy Kaufman – Snapple
Wendy’s funny Snapple commercials were very well received and her charming and lovable personality was partly responsible for the big increase in sales. Wendy left Snapple in 2008 after she refused to renew the contract claiming it was “worth nothing.” Since then, Wendy appeared on the weight-loss reality show Celebrity Fit Club, and a couple of shows on VH1 as well.
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Paul Marcarelli – Verizon
Verizon commercial featuring Paul was on an endless loop during the entire 2000s. There’s no way you don’t remember this guy. These days, Paul decided to change his career from an actor to a producer and director. Impressive!
Beck Bennett – AT&T
We bet you remember those AT&T commercials that featured Beck Bennett interviewing children. After his success in these commercials, Bennett’s career as a comedian flourished and now he’s a recurring cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Orlando Jones – 7Up
Orlando first appeared in a 7up commercial in 1999, where he played a fake spokesperson for the company with wacky ideas on how to promote this fizzy beverage. Now, Orlando is a successful stand-up comedian and voice actor. He appeared in two episodes of Everybody Hates Chris and is also starring in the FOX television series Sleepy Hollow.
Jerry Lambert – PS3
Kevin Butler is a made-up Sony executive played by Jerry Lambert. He appeared in several commercials trying to convince everyone that PS3 is the best choice when it comes to gaming consoles. After the commercials, Lambert continued working on his acting career and has appeared in 2014’s popular movie Horrible Bosses.
Farris Patton – Orbit Gum
Most remember Farris as the Orbit girl who hands out packs of gum to anyone who recognizes her. Unlike many actors on this list, Farris Patton didn’t want to be a movie star. She always wanted to be in commercials and now she is living a commercial actor’s dream as the spokesperson for Orbit gum.
Dean Winters – Allstate Insurance
Mayhem is a commercial character played by Dean Winters created for Allstate Insurance. Mayhem always gets himself in trouble by causing all sorts of accidents. Outside the world of commercials, Dean Winter had a lot of success in acting and has appeared in a lot of great TV shows and movies.
Laurel Coppock – Toyota
Laurel Coppock is famous for her role as Toyota Jan, the dealership receptionist from the famous Toyota ad. But before landing this gig, Laurel was on the verge of quitting auditions for commercials. Lately, Laurel has appeared in a few movies, like Crazy Stupid, Love and Comedy Jam. She’s also starred on TV shows like 2 Broke Girls and Modern Family.
Hallie Kate Eisenberg – Pepsi
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hallie was known as that adorable girl from the Pepsi commercials. In the ads, she was demanding a glass of her favorite beverage in the voices of Marlon Brando, Aretha Franklin, and Joe Pesci. Now, Hallie is having a rather successful career and she has been in a couple of movies lately, including the 2010’s indie classic Holy Motors.
Stephanie Courtney – Progressive Insurance
Flo is an extremely enthusiastic fictional salesperson character appearing in Progressive Insurance commercials, which debuted in 2008. She appeared in over 100 ads for this company. Stephanie is currently very much into comedy and is currently a member of The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy group.
Demetri Goritsas – Slim Jim
Back in the 1990s, those Slim Jim commercials were pretty crazy, but they were also very interesting and kind of funny. That’s all thanks to the wacky performances by Demetri Goritsas. It is hard to believe that Goritsas is the same person we remember from these commercials. He continues to pursue a career in acting and has had a couple of small roles over the past several years.
Maria Bamford – Target
Maria played the role of a crazy lady who was determined to be first in line to get the best products for the best price in Target. Playing a Target lady was a short time gig for Bamford, but she has since moved on to bigger things. These days, Maria mostly does stand-up comedy.
Carly Foulkes – T-Mobile
Carly became the T-Mobile spokesperson in 2010, after struggling for several years as an aspiring model. Her dazzling looks and charming personality bolstered the phone company’s ratings and sales quite a bit. Since appearing in T-Mobile commercials, Carly got leading roles in several short films.
Ben Curtis – Dell
The Dell dude or Slacker Steve is a character portrayed by Ben Curtis as a part of an ad campaign by Dell Computers. The campaign was a big success, both for the computer company and Ben. Unfortunately for Curtis, his career took a slight downturn when he was arrested for trying to purchase a bag of marijuana. He did, however, manage to get back on track and now enjoys a relatively successful career. He was a host on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has appeared in several independent production films.
Donna Loren – Dr. Pepper
Donna Loren signed a contract with Dr. Pepper in 1963 to promote the beverage to a younger demographic. Loren promoted the company through TV, radio appearances, as well as in-person singing performances. Loren returned back to music writing and in 2009, she and her husband started their own label called the Swinging Sixties Productions, which publishes and releases Loren’s music.
John Gilchrist Jr. – Life cereal
Little Mikey was a fictional young boy played by John Gilchrist in a TV commercial advertising Quaker Oats’ breakfast cereal Life. This ad was so dear to the American viewing public that it stayed in regular rotation for more than ten years. By 2012, John Gilchrist had become director of media sales for MSG Network. Gilchrist also claims that he has no clear memories of filming the legendary commercial back when he was just three years old.
Vince Offer – InVinceable
Vince is a well-known face from several major commercials that include products like ShamWow!, Slap Chop, and most recently the InViceable cleaning tablet. Offer starred in a series of ads pitching a kitchen cleaner that he developed himself in 2013. After the InViceable ads, Vince has produced several films including his big breakthrough The Underground Comedy Movie. Unfortunately for Offer, his movie is considered to be one of the worst films of all time.
David Leisure – Isuzu
Joe Isuzu is a fictional pitchman and spokesperson who starred in a series of 1980s TV ads for Isuzu cars and trucks. Played by actor David Leisure, Isuzu was portrayed as a pathological liar who made horrendously over-exaggerated claims about Isuzu’s cars. Throughout the years David Leisure had a very rich and stable career in acting, with long recurring roles in many sitcoms and soap operas.
Jonathan Goldsmith – Dos Equis
Beginning in 2007 and continuing through 2015, Jonathan Goldsmith had been featured in a high profile TV ad campaign, promoting Dos Equis beer. Jonathan also became an incredibly popular Internet meme thanks to this role. Goldsmith is a very accomplished and gifted actor and has made over 350 TV appearances throughout his career and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Rachelle Wood – GoDaddy
GoDaddy always uses stunning women in their commercials, and this one was no different. Wood is an actress that acted in series like How I Met Your Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rules of Engagement and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
