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.

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. Qualls also appeared as a Y2K prophet opposite Rami Malek in the sci-fi mystery thriller Buster's Mal Heart (2017)

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 Big Trouble Andrew Lone Star State of Mind Junior The New Guy Dizzy Gillespie Harrison / Gil Harris 2003 The Core Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch 2005 Hustle & Flow Shelby Little Athens Cory 2006 I'm Reed Fish Andrew 2007 Delta Farce Private Everett Shackleford 2008 Familiar Strangers Kenny Worthington The Company Man Guy Short film 2009 Road Trip: Beer Pong Kyle Edwards All About Steve Howard Circle of Eight Randall 2010 Last Day of Summer Joe Executive producer Amigo Zeke 2011 Running Mates Graham "One Ball" Jones 21 & Over Counselor 2013 Small Apartments Artie Pawn Shop Chronicles JJ 2016 November Rule Kareem Buster's Mal Heart Brown/Last Free Man 2017 Silence Please! Douglas Short film 2018 Fifty Minutes Mr. Potter Short film 2024 Carved Bill 2025 The Napa Boys The Sommelier TBA 1780 Post-production

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 2023; 2025 Bookie Alan 3 episodes

Music videos Year Artist Title Role Notes 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