Josey Dorsey, the 10-year-old son of late Glee star Naya Rivera, has stepped into acting after landing a role in the movie The Burning Valley alongside his father, Ryan Dorsey.
The young actor, who turns 11 on September 17, is listed on his official IMDb page as playing "Boy," while his 43-year-old father is listed as "Father."
The movie is written and directed by Evan Curry as his debut feature film. Filming has already begun on location across the Pennsylvania Rust Belt, utilizing industrial backdrops and towns along the Allegheny River.
"The movie is about a steelworker who loses his job when the mill announces a shutdown," Curry told local publication TribLive. "It sets him on a journey as he wanders through his Rust Belt town."
Curry described the project as a "small, poetic film about deindustrialization with an emotional truth." He added that his goal for the project is to "encapsulate the history of our region through one guy's personal experience."
The Rust Belt refers to a region in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States that saw widespread industrial decline in the late 20th century. The Allegheny River, which flows through western Pennsylvania, historically anchored major steel mills and manufacturing centers that defined the region's economy.
Prior to joining the cast of The Burning Valley, Josey gained stage experience in a local theater production of Seussical Jr. in West Virginia, where he resides with his father.
Stage experience and mother's legacy
In January, Josey paid a touching tribute to his mother on what would have been her 39th birthday.
His new acting role comes six years after the death of his mother, Naya Rivera. Rivera achieved widespread recognition for playing Santana Lopez, a quick-witted cheerleader and vocalist, on the Fox musical comedy series Glee.
Glee, created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, aired for six seasons from 2009 to 2015 and became a major cultural hit. Rivera earned praise for her powerhouse musical performances and her portrayal of Santana's coming-out story.
Rivera died from accidental drowning on July 8, 2020, during an outing at Lake Piru in Ventura County, California. She was 33 years old.
The actress had rented a pontoon boat for a day trip with Josey, who was four years old at the time. Investigators determined that Rivera exhausted herself while helping her son back onto the vessel after a swim before sinking beneath the water's surface.
Lake Piru is a reservoir located in the Los Padres National Forest, about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The lake is known for sudden winds, deep drop-offs, and cold underwater currents that can present hazards to swimmers.
Following an extensive multi-day search, emergency workers recovered Rivera's body from the scenic reservoir on July 13, 2020.
Details of the Lake Piru accident
Rivera and Ryan Dorsey were married for four years and welcomed Josey in 2015 before finalizing their divorce in 2018.
Last year, Ryan Dorsey shared details with People magazine about what Josey remembered from that tragic afternoon. Josey recalled that the day was windy and that he initially hesitated to go swimming, but his mother encouraged him, saying, "Don't be silly!"
The pontoon boat had not been anchored and began drifting away while they were in the water. Rivera noticed the boat drifting and instructed Josey to swim back immediately.
Josey recalled grabbing "the tanks" and pulling himself "around the boat" to get back aboard.
"He said that the last thing she said was his name, and then she went under, and he didn't see her anymore. It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments," Dorsey told People.
Dorsey shared that Josey harbored feelings that he might have been able to rescue his mother. "Something he's said over and over is that he was trying to find a life raft, and there was a rope, but there was a big spider on the rope, and he was too scared to throw it," Dorsey said.
Dorsey added that he continuously offers comfort to his son: "I keep reassuring him, 'Buddy, that rope wasn't going to be long enough.' That obviously still sticks out in his head because he feels like he could have saved her. I think she just got caught up in a brush - that or a weird undercurrent from the dam. It was just a freak occurrence."
