Verizon's 'Dramatic Dad' Commercial Has A Marvel Connection Only MCU Fans Caught
If you watch TV with commercials, there's a good chance you've spotted the "Dramatic Dad" Verizon commercial where a family's patriarch reacts poorly to typical phone plan annoyances. His levelheaded family assures him that Verizon is more reliable, but that message might've been lost on MCU fans who were too distracted by a vague sense that they've seen the daughter somewhere before.
The actor is Madeleine McGraw, and she played a young Hope Van Dyne in 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp." In fact, she reprised that character for the "What If...?" Season 2 episode, "What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?" Hope ends up saving the day in that episode as she befriends young Peter Quill (Mace Montgomery Miskel), who goes on a rampage at the request of his malevolent father, Ego (Kurt Russell).
It's a fun connection for Marvel fans, but for McGraw herself, the ad was special because she got to work on it with her brother. She posted an ad on her Instagram along with the caption, "Loved watching football yesterday and seeing this second spot from #Verizon. [Aidan McGraw] one of the best things about the end of 2023 was getting to work with you. Love you so much!" Madeleine McGraw may be young, but she already has a resume that would make many working actors jealous.
Madeleine McGraw has also starred in Pacific Rim: Uprising and The Black Phone
As a child actor, Madeleine McGraw didn't waste any time making a mark in the entertainment industry. She was booking parts on network TV shows "Bones" and "Selfie" before her 10th birthday. And it wasn't long until she started showing up in films. In addition to her venture into the MCU, she appears in "Pacific Rim: Uprising" as well as "The Black Phone." Her role in the latter was particularly well-received, with Vulture writing, "Whenever [McGraw's character] Gwen is onscreen, the film locks into its more emotional register: We feel her anguish, her growing sense of helplessness."
In an interview with Screen Rant, McGraw was asked if she was a fan of "Black Phone" director Scott Derrickson before being cast, which allowed her to show off more of her Marvel acumen, "Oh, yeah, 'Doctor Strange' definitely. But I'm not allowed to see a lot of horror movies. [Chuckles] I don't know, I've been begging my mom to let me watch 'Sinister,' but she said, 'Definitely not.'"
Madeleine McGraw's "Dramatic Dad" Verizon commercial is certainly a nice gig to get, and the actor will be plenty busy going forward. She's one of the returning cast members for "The Black Phone 2," so fans will get to see her beloved character get fleshed out even further.