Simon Schatzberger, the actor who starred in the memorable 1991 Yellow Pages television advert as a floppy-haired teen in need of a French polisher, has appeared in the new Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day, 35 years after his iconic screen debut.
In the advert, Schatzberger wakes up on the living room floor after a house party thrown while his parents are away. He then discovers a scratch on a wooden table and frantically calls a French polisher, uttering the line, "Hello, French polishers? It's just possible you could save my life." The day is saved when the scratch is expertly polished away, but not before someone has drawn a beard and glasses on a woman in a family portrait.
A career on screen and stage
Now 58, Schatzberger plays the role of 'Night Driver' in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, alongside Tom Holland and Zendaya Coleman. This marks his debut in the Spider-Man franchise, though Holland, 30, has played the web-slinger in seven films, including four solo movies and three crossover appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Schatzberger is no stranger to television or theatre. He appeared as David Klarfeld on the BBC soap Doctors, which ended in 2024, and as a Rabbi in EastEnders in December 2018 and January 2019. His other credits include Band of Brothers, Daniel Deronda, and Father Brown. Shortly after the Yellow Pages advert, he played Adrian Mole in a West End production.
The legacy of Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages, based in Reading, produced regional phone books before the internet age, with A-Z listings of local businesses. The company ceased printing its directories in 2019 after more than half a century. At its peak, there were 104 editions with nearly 23 million copies distributed yearly.
