Ferrero was born in Brockport, New York. He joined the California Actors Theater in Los Gatos, California. In 1979, he moved to Los Angeles and began to act in Hollywood. He is widely remembered for his role as the ill-fated Lawyer Donald Gennaro in Jurassic Park (1993). He is also remembered as a regular on the 1980s TV series Miami Vice for playing the comic relief character Izzy Moreno, an informant with a malapropism infused Cuban accent and involved in a variety of outlandish Business ventures. Less well known is that he appeared in the pilot episode as Assassin Trini DeSoto. He also guest-starred on an episode of Cheers ("Rescue Me", season 3), playing the role of an Italian waiter. In addition, he has appeared in Get Shorty (1995), Gods and Monsters (1998), and The Tailor of Panama (2001).
