Perella had a recurring role, as Cobalt, in TV's Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–1999) starring Chuck Norris, he also appeared in another episode of Walker, Texas Ranger entitled 'No Way Out' as Zeke, a Mercenary working for Caleb Hooks Michael Parks. He also worked with Director Richard Linklater several times, playing the roles as Tom Watson in Fast Food Nation (2006) starring Greg Kinnear, Bruce Willis, and Catalina Sandino Moreno, as Donald in A Scanner Darkly (2006) starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Robert Downey Jr., and as Professor Bill Welbrock, the abusive alcoholic second husband, in Boyhood (2014) starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, and Ethan Hawke.