# DJ Qualls

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

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. 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. He returned to Tennessee, enrolling at Belmont University in Nashville, where he also began acting in a local theater company.

## Career

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. After this, he worked as a model for Prada and photographers such as David LaChapelle and Steve Klein. In Cherry Falls (2000), he played Wally, another virgin. In 2001, he played Neil Lawrence in Chasing Holden. 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. He starred in the comedy Delta Farce. In 2005, he appeared as Shelby in the film Hustle & Flow. 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.
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. He co-starred on the television series Legit as Billy Nugent, a 33-year-old man with muscular dystrophy.

## 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," after announcing it at a Jim Jefferies show in San Diego. Prior to this, he had referenced his sexuality on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in the early 2010s.
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.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Cherry Falls | Wally | |
| 2000 | Road Trip | Kyle Edwards | |
| 2001 | Chasing Holden | Neil Lawrence | |
| 2002 | Comic Book Villains | Archie | Co-producer |
| 2002 | Big Trouble | Andrew | |
| 2002 | Lone Star State of Mind | Junior | |
| 2002 | The New Guy | Dizzy Gillespie Harrison / Gil Harris | |
| 2003 | The Core | Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch | |
| 2005 | Hustle & Flow | Shelby | |
| 2005 | Little Athens | Cory | |
| 2006 | I'm Reed Fish | Andrew | |
| 2007 | Delta Farce | Private Everett Shackleford | |
| 2008 | Familiar Strangers | Kenny Worthington | |
| 2008 | The Company Man | Guy | Short film |
| 2009 | Road Trip: Beer Pong | Kyle Edwards | |
| 2009 | All About Steve | Howard | |
| 2009 | Circle of Eight | Randall | |
| 2010 | Last Day of Summer | Joe | Executive producer |
| 2010 | Amigo | Zeke | |
| 2011 | Running Mates | Graham "One Ball" Jones | |
| 2011 | 21 & Over | Counselor | |
| 2013 | Small Apartments | Artie | |
| 2013 | Pawn Shop Chronicles | JJ | |
| 2016 | November Rule | Kareem | |
| 2016 | Buster's Mal Heart | Brown/Last Free Man | |
| 2017 | Silence Please! | Douglas | Short film |
| 2018 | Fifty Minutes | Mr. Potter | Short film |
| 2024 | Carved | | Hulu release |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Mama Flora's Family | Jason | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Scrubs | Josh | Episode: "My Student" |
| 2005 | Lost | Johnny | Episode: "Everybody Hates Hugo" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Robie Boatman | Episode: "Scared Crazy" |
| 2005 | Criminal Minds | Richard Slessman | Episode: "Extreme Aggressor" |
| 2005 | Punk'd | Himself | Season 6, Episode 7 |
| 2006 | Monk | Rufus / Computer Geek | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Big Reward" |
| 2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Henry Garden | Episode: "Post-Mortem" |
| 2007 | Numb3rs | Anthony Braxton | Episode: "Primacy" |
| 2007 | My Name Is Earl | Ray-Ray | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | The Big Bang Theory | Toby Loobenfeld | Episode: "The Loobenfeld Decay" |
| 2008 | Good Behavior | Donnie Stryker | Television film |
| 2009 | Breaking Bad | Getz | Episode: "Better Call Saul" |
| 2010 | Memphis Beat | Davey Sutton | 20 episodes |
| 2011–2020 | Supernatural | Garth Fitzgerald IV/Mr. Fizzles | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | Hawaii Five-0 | Marshall Demps | Episode: "Kupouli 'la" |
| 2013 | Perception | Agent Rudy Fleckner | 5 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Legit | Billy Nugent | Main character (26 episodes) |
| 2014–2018 | Z Nation | Citizen Z | Series regular, 28 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | The Man in the High Castle | Ed McCarthy | Series regular, 30 episodes |
| 2016 | Time Traveling Bong | Future Man | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry | Himself | 1 episodes |
| 2017 | Fargo | Golem | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Creepshow | Clark Willson | 1 episode |
| 2022 | Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities | Jenkins Brown (voice role) | 1 episode |

### Music videos

| Year | Artist | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Barenaked Ladies | "Pinch Me" | | |
| 2000 | Eels | "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" | Kyle Edwards | Uncredited |
| 2002 | Simple Plan | "I'm Just a Kid" | Dizzy Gillespie Harrison / Gil Harris | Uncredited |
| 2002 | Britney Spears | "Boys" | | |

## Awards and nominations

| 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) | Hustle & Flow | Nominated |