In an interview about his breakout role on the show, Ferrara said that he told his friends he had received a role in a television pilot and they asked, "What's that?" Kevin Connolly said of his Entourage co-star that "Jerry’s very domesticated. He’s probably the most different from his character. He’s like 180 degrees in the opposite direction." Ferrara's character is "Turtle", the entourage's unofficial driver and resident gopher/tag-along who smokes marijuana. Through Entourage's four season history, Turtle has gained substantial substance and storyline attention as a character. He briefly managed rapper Saigon in Seasons 2 and 3. And [Jerome] (J.) aka Rizzo in the most recent season 5.

Prior to Entourage, he co-starred in the movie Cross Bronx. He also guest-starred on such series as NYPD Blue, Grounded for Life, Law & Order and The King of Queens.

Recently Ferrara appeared as "Turtle" for a DirecTV commercial (his dialog is mixed with a clip from an Entourage episode) and played the role of "Bobby" in the 2007 film Brooklyn Rules.