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DJ Qualls
American actor (born 1978) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Donald Joseph Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Citizen Z on the Syfy horror series Z Nation (2014–2018) and Ed McCarthy on the Amazon Prime Video series The Man in the High Castle (2015–2018).
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Qualls gained mainstream recognition after a supporting role in the sex comedy film Road Trip (2000), which he reprised in the sequel, Road Trip: Beer Pong (2009). This was followed with a lead role in the teen comedy film The New Guy (2002), alongside starring roles in The Core (2003) and Hustle & Flow (2005), the latter of which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Qualls has also had starring roles in the films I'm Reed Fish (2006), Delta Farce (2007), Amigo (2010), Small Apartments (2013), and Buster's Mal Heart (2016).
Qualls had main roles as Police Officer Davey Sutton on the TNT crime series Memphis Beat (2010–2011) and Billy Nugent on the FX and FXX sitcom Legit (2013–2014).
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Early life
Qualls was born in Nashville, Tennessee, one of five children of Donnie and Janice Qualls. He was raised in Manchester, Tennessee, and attended school in nearby Tullahoma. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age fourteen. After two years of treatment, his cancer was said to be in remission. According to Qualls, the chemotherapy at an early age sped up his metabolism and affected his growth, "It stopped my development," which explains his slender frame.[1][2] After graduating from Coffee County Central High School in 1995, where he was an active member in the Red Raider Band, Qualls attended King's College London, where he studied English literature[citation needed]. He returned to Tennessee, enrolling at Belmont University in Nashville, where he also began acting in a local theater company.[citation needed]
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Career
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Qualls was an extra in the 1994 HBO film Against the Wall. He landed the small role of Jason in the miniseries Mama Flora's Family (1998) while participating in community theater. After auditioning for a one-liner in Road Trip (2000), he was asked to come from the Atlanta office to meet producer Ivan Reitman in California. He debuted in Road Trip as shy virgin Kyle Edwards.[3] After this, he worked as a model for Prada and photographers such as David LaChapelle and Steve Klein.[4] In Cherry Falls (2000), he played Wally, another virgin. In 2001, he played Neil Lawrence in Chasing Holden.[5] Qualls also appeared as a Y2K prophet opposite Rami Malek in the sci-fi mystery thriller Buster's Mal Heart (2017).
In 2002, Qualls played Archie in the film Comic Book Villains, Andrew in the film Big Trouble, Junior in the film Lone Star State of Mind, Dizzy Gillespie Harrison in the film The New Guy, and Rat in the sci-fi film The Core.[6][unreliable source?] He starred in the comedy Delta Farce. In 2005, he appeared as Shelby in the film Hustle & Flow.[7] His television work includes eccentric hunter Garth Fitzgerald IV on Supernatural and appearances on Monk, Scrubs, Criminal Minds, Lost, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Numb3rs, My Name Is Earl, Breaking Bad, The Big Bang Theory, and Memphis Beat.[8]
Qualls appeared in a cameo in Britney Spears' music video "Boys" (2002) and was also in the "I'm Just a Kid" music video by Simple Plan (2002). He starred in the Paramount Pictures web series Circle of Eight.[9][10] He co-starred on the television series Legit as Billy Nugent, a 33-year-old man with muscular dystrophy.
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Personal life
In January 2020, Qualls came out as gay on his Twitter account, stating he was "tired of worrying about what it would do to my career,"[11] after announcing it at a Jim Jefferies show in San Diego.[12] Prior to this, he had referenced his sexuality on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in the early 2010s.[13]
Qualls revealed in May 2024 that he is currently in a relationship with fellow Supernatural actor Ty Olsson, and that the two are engaged to be married.[14]
Filmography
Film
Television
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Awards and nominations
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External links
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