DJ Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor, producer, and model. He is best known for his work in films such as Road Trip, The New Guy, and Hustle & Flow, and for appearances on television series such asBreaking Bad, Supernatural, Scrubs, Lost, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The Big Bang Theory. He most recently co-starred in the FX comedy series Legit, and is currently co-starring in the SyFy channel's Z Nation, which premiered on September 12, 2014.
Early life[]
Qualls was born in Nashville, Tennessee, one of five children of Debbie and Connie Qualls. He was raised in Manchester, Tennessee and attended school nearby. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 14; after two years of treatment, his cancer was said to be in remission. After graduating from Coffee County Central High School, where he was an active member in the Red Raider Band, Qualls attended the University of London, where he studied English language and English literature. He returned to Tennessee and enrolled in 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. InCherry 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, 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" (2001) and was also in the "I'm Just a Kid" music video by Simple Plan (2002). He stars in theParamount Pictures web series Circle of Eight. He most recently co-starred as Billy Nugent, a 33-year-old man with muscular dystrophy, on the television seriesLegit.