D. J. Cotrona

Donald Joseph Cotrona (born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, known for his role in the film G.I. Joe: Retaliation and as Seth Gecko in the El Rey Network horror television series From Dusk till Dawn. He was cast as Pedro Peña's superhero form in the DC Extended Universe film Shazam! and returned for the role in the 2023 sequel.

Early life Cotrona was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His mother, Sheree, is a teacher, and his father, Donald, works for a recycling company. Cotrona has partial Italian ancestry. which was directed by Jim Gillespie. Cotrona also starred in the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival film Love is the Drug.

In 2005, Cotrona again landed a lead role in a TV series, playing Sean Mathers, a flower shop worker with a dark past who is one of a group of lottery winners, in the NBC series Windfall. The series was shown in the summer of 2006 rather than as a mid-season replacement for the 2005-06 TV season.

Cotrona was cast in the role of Superman for Warner Bros.' planned film Justice League: Mortal, but after issues resulting from the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike and other production concerns, the film was cancelled.

In 2010, Cotrona appeared in the film Dear John. In February he was cast as Detective John Stone in the ABC pilot 187 Detroit, which also stars Michael Imperioli, Shaun Majumder, and Erin Cummings among others. When ABC ordered the series it was renamed Detroit 1-8-7. His character was killed in "Stone Cold", the sixteenth episode of the series.

Cotrona played Flint, one of the leading roles, in the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013).

In March 2014, the horror television series From Dusk till Dawn developed by Robert Rodriguez based on his own cult horror film of the same title, was aired on the newly launched El Rey Network. Cotrona played Seth Gecko in the series, being a member of the main cast until the series ended in 2016.

Cotrona has since appeared in the promotional 30-minute short film for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands, which aired in February 2017.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 Venom Sean 2006 Love Is the Drug Lucas Mitchell 2010 Dear John Noodles 2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation Dashiell "Flint" R. Faireborn 2017 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel Ricky Sandoval Short film 2019 Shazam! Super Hero Pedro 2023 Shazam! Fury of the Gods Spy Kids: Armageddon Agent Devlin 2025 Fight or Flight Writer

Television