12 Major Commercial Actors With Surprisingly Intriguing Backstories
![12 Major Commercial Actors With Surprisingly Intriguing Backstories](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/3/7/814937_320x180.jpg)
You can't go a day without seeing one of these actors, but they didn't just bubble up out of nowhere. They're definitely from somewhere so we sent out the bloodhounds and tracked them down. They're currently all in the same tree, just looking down at us nervously as they have a commercial shoot to attend. But too bad, Jabronis, you just all stay there until our intrepid audience learns all it wants. We dug tastefully but firmly into the past to learn the most salient info about each of these hucksters so here you go.
After our audience has had its fill then, maybe, just maybe we'll let a few of them down. Jake from State Farm has to come down last, though, because he's on TV every nine seconds, and we're sick of it. Not your fault, Jake, but overexposure is overexposure. Maybe there's insurance for that? You ought to know, Jake.
![Jake from State Farm showed up in the wrong clothes for his audition. Statement adidas How Jake from Statefarm GRACKED.COM Actor Kevin Miles did not see that the audition called for the iconic red polo and khakis, and instead showed up wearing a white shirt and gray blazer, along with relaxed denim pants and Jordans.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/8/814948.jpg)
Source: Forbes
![Miles slept in his car before finding a place in LA. GRACKED.COM After buying a one-way ticket to LA to pursue his acting career, Miles was left with very little money and created a home in his car for a week.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/0/814950.jpg)
Source: Forbes
![The original Jake was a real State Farm employee. CRACKED.COM A 26 year-old insurance agent of the company whose name was Jake Stone, got the part after attending a casting call the company put out. It is said that he also worked as a bartender, and was replaced with Miles when he found another job.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/9/814949.jpg)
Source: TheThings.com
![The Verizon turned Sprint guy was really a Sprint customer. CRACKED.COM The actor behind the Verizon spokesperson Paul Marcarelli had a contract with the company that ended in 2011, and after Sprint approached him with an offer to try their mobile services, Marcarelli was sold and the two moved forward with creating their first ad, Paul Switched.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/2/814942.jpg)
Source: CNN
![It was all Sprints' plan to bring Marcarelli on as their spokesperson. CRACKED.COM As Sprint grew as a company, they searched for a familiar face, and seeing that Marcarelli had just ended with their competitor gave them the bold new move they were looking for.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/7/814947.jpg)
Source: Fastcompany
![Marcarelli was on the list of 2002's Most Intriguing People. CRACKED.COM Marcarelli is the founder of his own production company, Table Ten Films. Raised on a farm, his parents had little money as school teachers. After his commercial work, he now has an estimated net worth of 10 million dollars.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/0/814940.jpg)
Source: Wealthy Gorilla
![Actress for Flo from Progressive has a backstory for her character. Auto Auto ELO GRACKED.COM Stephanie Courtney told BestLife that she based her character off of her mother, and pictures Flo seeing the world as just one big Toontown, driving her mini cooper around, happy as a clam.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/1/814941.jpg)
Source: BestLifeOnline
![Courtney reportedly makes around 1 million a year portraying Flo. FIC TUCK GRAGKED.COM Her character, since being introduced to Progressive, has proven lucrative for their company, so it's no wonder the actress is stacking up large sums of money as a result.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/3/814943.jpg)
Source: TheSun
![Courtney got her start at the Groundlings. AF CRACKED.COM The actress began her career where many SNL cast members studied improv, also meeting her now husband Scott Kolanach there, the Groundlings' lighting director.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/5/814945.jpg)
Source: BestLifeOnline
![The Sonic guys started off as improv bros. NIC S CRACKED.COM Chicago-based improv comedians Peter Grosz and T.J. Jagodowski starred in the Sonic commercials, going off book during the shoot for their first commercial with the brand.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/4/814944.jpg)
Source: Forbes
![Sonic let them go but took them back later on. CRACKED.COM Six years of ads led to Sonic moving into another direction, and when Grosz and Jagodowski began their own YouTube channel with Sonic themed bits, they received such positive responses that Sonic reeled them back in in 2012, letting them go again in 2020.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/5/1/814951.jpg)
Source: Distractify
![The Sonic guys are not dead. SONI CRACKED.COM Despite the rumors, they did not die- they were let go as Sonic wanted to wean off their comedic direction and go into a wholesome one, replacing the pair with real families going on roadtrips for their ads instead.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/6/814946.jpg)