The American actor, writer and producer Jerry Ferrara, is famously known as Salvatore ‘Turtle’ Assante in the drama series “Entourage”, and as Joe Proctor in the crime drama “Power.”
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Jerry Charles Ferrara is a native of Brooklyn, New York City, and was born under the Sagittarius zodiac sign on 25 November 1979, making him 43 years old as of 2022. He was raised by his mother Mariana Lautato, who’s of Italian roots and who was a crossing guard, and his stepfather Mike Lautato – his biological father is reported to have died when he was five. Jerry spent most of his childhood in Bensonhurst and grew up very fascinated with sports – he dreamt of becoming a sports analyst in the future.
Jerry was a student at New Utrecht High School, and also attended Abraham Lincoln High. He began studying theater when he joined the College of Staten Island, and was encouraged to pursue an acting career by one of his professors named Norman Kruger.
Facts and Hobbies
Jerry is a basketball fan who is a huge supporter of the New York Knicks – he wore a Knick jersey in one of “Entourage” episodes in 2004. He’s also a fan of the New York Yankees.
He describes himself as a homebody, and prefers staying indoors playing video games to clubbing or traveling – he previously revealed that he hates flying.
In his spare time, the “Entourage” star goes golfing with his friends.
His favorite childhood show was “Saved by the Bell”, and he even used the nickname Zack Morris (played by his best-loved actor, Mark-Paul Gosselaar) when he stayed at hotels.
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Career
TV Appearances
Ferrara made his TV debut in 2000, as Joey in the episode “Strike Too” of the CBS sitcom “The King of Queens”, which was followed by appearances in single episodes of six series through 2004, including “City Guy” and “Grounded for Life”. He rose to prominence when he was cast together with Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, and Kevin Connolly in the HBO sitcom “Entourage,” which won various awards including a Primetime Emmy and a Peabody Award – he appeared in 96 episodes of the show from 2004 to 2011. His next TV role was in the 6-part documentary “Vietnam in HD” in 2011.
Between 2015 to 2019, Ferrara was cast for a recurring role in the acclaimed Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson and Courtney A. Kemp’s Starz drama “Power,” which starred Omari Hardwick, Michael Rainey Jr. and Joseph Sikora. The NAACP Image Award-nominated show has several spin-offs, including “Power Book II: Ghost” and “Power Book III: Raising Kanan.” Jerry next played the recurring role of Kirk Zehnder in the second and third seasons of the Ryan Phillipe, Omar Epps, and Shantel VanSanten-starring USA Network drama “Shooter,” which is based on Stephen Hunter’s 1993 novel, “Point of Impact.”
Film Appearances
Ferrara made his film debut as Vinny in the Salvatore Stabile-directed 2007 drama “Where God Left His Shoes,” which starred John Leguizamo, Leonor Varela, and David Castro. He appeared in four more films between 2007 and 2011, including “Seven Days in Utopia” before he landed the role of Jeremy in the romantic drama “Think Like a Man” in 2012, sharing the screen with some of the finest Hollywood stars including Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, and Regina Hall. The Tim Story-directed film was nominated for several awards, and won both the BET and BMI Film & TV awards in 2013. Jerry reprised his role in the film’s 2014 sequel “Think Like a Man Too.”
In 2015, Jerry starred alongside Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connoly and Mark Wahlberg in the comedy film “Entourage,” which had box-office takings of nearly $50 million. He recently starred alongside Francesca Reale, Taylor Hill, and Jaboukie Young-White in the 2021 comedy “Dating & New York,” which is the directing debut of Jonah Feingold.
Other Works
Jerry made his directing debut in a 2010 episode of the series “The Gentlemen’s League.” He also wrote two episodes, “Whiz Kid” and “The Big Bang” of the series “Entourage” in 2011. The New Yorker also served as an executive producer of the comedy “Dating & New York” in 2021, in which he also starred as Cole.
Ferrara has appeared in several commercials, and played Turtle in a former DirecTV commercial.
He is also the co-founder of the California-based Fat Sal’s Deli, which is known to serve healthy sandwiches -he opened it together with the culinary enthusiasts, Josh Stone and Salvatore ‘Fat Sal’ Capek in 2010.
Award Nominations and Social Media Presence
In 2006 and 2007, Ferrara received two Teen Choice Award nominations, and shared one of them with the “Entourage” cast. He has so far been nominated for three joint Screen Actors Guild Awards – for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, in 2007, ‘08 and ‘09 for their performance in “Entourage.” Recently, in 2019, he was nominated for a National Film and TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his works in “Power.”
Ferrara is fond of posting his children’s and wife’s photos on his Instagram account, which has a wide following of around 750,000 fans.
Personal Life
Jerry is a married man – he walked the aisle with the “Freaky Deaky” starlet, podcaster and TV personality, Breanne Racano, on 30 June 2017 in Gervasi Vineyard, Ohio – the duo had dated for three years. Breanne wore an expensive dress that was designed by Austin Scarlett, and their wedding was Italian-themed. Jerry announced his wife’s pregnancy in January 2019, joking that he hoped that his son would get his height (5ft 4ins). Their son named Jacob Michael was born in mid-2019, and they considered him a big blessing since they had previously suffered a pregnancy loss before his birth. The couple welcomed their second-born amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021, and he took to Instagram to thank and praise his wife for being the glue that holds his family together.
Previously, Jerry had an affair with the starlet of the HBO drama series “The Sopranos,” Jamie-Lynn Sigler, however, they broke up in December 2009, and his wife was formerly romantically linked to the American model and actor Sean Farris.
He is good friends with his “Entourage” cast member, Kevin Dillon, and was the best man at his wedding to the model and actress Jane Stuart, which took place in Las Vegas on 22 April 2006.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Ferrara has an athletic physique, weighs approximately 140lbs (64kgs), and is of short stature –5ft 4ins (1.63m) tall. He is of White descent, and has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes.
He enjoys working out, and he previously lost over 60lbs (27kgs) in 2010 and 2011, after his doctor had warned him that his weight was likely to pose a health risk to him. He acknowledges that his nutritionist wife, who drew up a healthy and simple diet for him, helped with his weight loss journey – he also played basketball at least once per week, took Epsom salt detox baths, quit smoking, and ran most of his errands on foot.
Net Worth
Jerry has over 30 film and TV credits to his name, which has seen his fame and wealth grow significantly. He is estimated to be worth around $10 million as of 2022, and his wife approximately $3 million.
