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DJ Qualls

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DJ Qualls
Qualls in 2014
Born
Donald Joseph Qualls

(1978-06-10) June 10, 1978 (age 48)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1994–present

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).

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).

Early life

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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]

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] and reprised his role in the sequel, Road Trip: Beer Pong (2009). 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 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). In 2002 and 2003, 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?] In 2005, he appeared as Shelby in the film Hustle & Flow.[7] In 2006, he starred in romantic film I'm Reed Fish. In 2007, he starred in the comedy Delta Farce. He also had roles in the films Amigo (2010) and Small Apartments (2013). 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, and The Big Bang Theory.[8]

Qualls starred in the Paramount Pictures web series Circle of Eight (2009).[9][10] From 2010–2011, he starred as Police Officer Davey Sutton on the TNT crime series Memphis Beat. From 2013-2014, Qualls co-starred on the FX and FXX television series Legit as Billy Nugent, a 33-year-old man with muscular dystrophy. From 2014–2018, he portrayed Citizen Z in the Syfy horror series Z Nation, and from 2015–2018, he played Ed McCarthy in the Amazon Prime Video series The Man in the High Castle. Qualls also appeared as a Y2K prophet opposite Rami Malek in the sci-fi mystery thriller Buster's Mal Heart (2016).

Personal life

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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

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1999Cherry FallsWally
2000Road TripKyle Edwards
2001Chasing HoldenNeil Lawrence
2002Comic Book VillainsArchieCo-producer
Big TroubleAndrew
Lone Star State of MindJunior
The New GuyDizzy Gillespie Harrison / Gil Harris
2003The CoreTheodore Donald "Rat" Finch
2005Hustle & FlowShelby
Little AthensCory
2006I'm Reed FishAndrew
2007Delta FarcePrivate Everett Shackleford
2008Familiar StrangersKenny Worthington
The Company ManGuyShort film
2009Road Trip: Beer PongKyle Edwards
All About SteveHoward
Circle of EightRandall[15]
2010Last Day of SummerJoeExecutive producer
AmigoZeke
2011Running MatesGraham "One Ball" Jones
21 & OverCounselor
2013Small ApartmentsArtie
Pawn Shop ChroniclesJJ
2016November RuleKareem
Buster's Mal HeartBrown/Last Free Man
2017Silence Please!DouglasShort film
2018Fifty MinutesMr. PotterShort film
2024CarvedBill[16]
2025The Napa BoysThe Sommelier
TBA1780Post-production[17]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1998Mama Flora's FamilyJason2 episodes
2002ScrubsJoshEpisode: "My Student"
2005LostJohnnyEpisode: "Everybody Hates Hugo"
2005Law & Order: Criminal IntentRobie BoatmanEpisode: "Scared Crazy"
2005Criminal MindsRichard SlessmanEpisode: "Extreme Aggressor"
2005Punk'dHimselfSeason 6, Episode 7
2006MonkRufus / Computer GeekEpisode: "Mr. Monk and the Big Reward"
2006CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationHenry GardenEpisode: "Post-Mortem"
2007Numb3rsAnthony BraxtonEpisode: "Primacy"
2007My Name Is EarlRay-Ray3 episodes
2007The Big Bang TheoryToby LoobenfeldEpisode: "The Loobenfeld Decay"
2008Good BehaviorDonnie StrykerTelevision film
2009Breaking BadGetzEpisode: "Better Call Saul"
2010Memphis BeatDavey Sutton20 episodes
2011–2020SupernaturalGarth Fitzgerald IV/Mr. Fizzles6 episodes
2013Hawaii Five-0Marshall DempsEpisode: "Kupouli 'la"
2013PerceptionAgent Rudy Fleckner5 episodes[18]
2013–2014LegitBilly NugentMain character (26 episodes)
2014–2018Z NationCitizen ZSeries regular, 28 episodes
2015–2018The Man in the High CastleEd McCarthySeries regular, 30 episodes
2016Time Traveling BongFuture Man2 episodes
2016Hollywood Medium with Tyler HenryHimself1 episodes
2017FargoGolem2 episodes
2019CreepshowClark Willson1 episode
2022Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of CuriositiesJenkins Brown (voice role)1 episode
2023; 2025BookieAlan3 episodes

Music videos

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Year Artist Title Role Notes
2000Eels"Mr. E's Beautiful Blues"Kyle EdwardsUncredited
2002Simple Plan"I'm Just a Kid"Dizzy Gillespie Harrison / Gil HarrisUncredited
2002Britney Spears"Boys"

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2006 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with the cast) Nominated

References

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  1. ↑ "Hi, Im DJ Qualls. Im an actor from such movie masterpieces as Road Trip, The New Guy, Hustle & Flow, and Sandra Bullock's razzie award winning film, All About Steve. I recur on Supernatural, Perception, and am a regular on the FX series Legit. • r/IAmA". reddit. March 21, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ Abrams, Tamar (August 19, 2010). "DJ Qualls: Putting the "Character" in Character Actor". HuffPost. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ Mark Plante (January 28, 2008). "DJ Qualls Interview for Hustle and Flow". The Cinema Source. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ Steve Head (April 4, 2003). "A Conversation with DJ Qualls". IGN. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ Bonnie Laufer (May 10, 2002). "Star Chat: A conversation with DJ Qualls". Tribute MovieMail Newsletter.
  6. ↑ Bonnie Laufer (March 21, 2003). "Star Chat: A conversation with DJ Qualls". Tribute MovieMail Newsletter.
  7. ↑ Jenny Halper (July 25, 2005). "INTERVIEW: DJ Qualls on "Hustle & Flow"". Cinema Confidential. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
  8. ↑ "DJ Qualls Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Finale of Paramount's Circle of Eight Now LIVE!". Dread Central. June 25, 2012.
  10. ↑ Heyman, Jessie (September 26, 2011). "D.J. Qualls Tweets: Beaten By Vancouver Police For No Reason". HuffPost. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ Bollinger, Alex (January 13, 2020). "Actor DJ Qualls comes out as gay". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  12. ↑ Qualls, DJ [@TheOnlyDJQualls] (January 10, 2020). "It is 11:20pm. I just came out on stage at a @jimjefferies show in San Diego. Yep, I'm gay. Been gay this whole time. Tired of worrying about what people would think of me. Tired of worrying about what it would do to my career" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ "11/12 Visits In Chrono. Order [Mostly HD]". June 9, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. 16:36. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Join Paramount's Circle of Eight". Dread Central. May 23, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Peyton Elizabeth Lee To Star In Hulu's Horror Comedy 'Carved'". movies.mxdwn.com.
  17. ↑ "Kevin Spacey & DJ Qualls To Topline Revolutionary-Era Thriller '1780' – Watch A Teaser". Deadline. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Exclusive: DJ Qualls Returns to TNT for Perception". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013.
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