Marco Perella

Born in Houston, Texas, Marco Perella is an American character actor and author known for small roles in films shot in Texas. He left Stanford University after his junior year and worked in construction, firefighting, and music before auditioning for West Side Story. In the mid-1980s he began working in film and television. His debut, Fandango, had his scenes cut before release. He played a cab driver in D.O.A. (1988) and a police sergeant in Knight Rider 2000 (1991). He had a recurring role as Cobalt on Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 1999. With director Richard Linklater, he appeared in Fast Food Nation (2006) and A Scanner Darkly (2006), and he played Professor Bill Welbrock, an abusive alcoholic second husband, in Boyhood (2014). His autobiography, Adventures of A No Name Actor, was a bestseller.