Planning a career as a teacher, Ferrero majored in social sciences at San Jose State in California. On his second day of graduate school however, Ferrero dropped out and joined the California Actors Theater based in Los Gatos. After gaining some stage experience, he moved to LA in 1979 and soon found work in films and TV. His first small screen credit had him playing a waiter on the popular sitcom, "Soap". His feature credits include "Gung Ho" (1986), "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987), "Oscar" (1991) and "Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot" (1992).