Josey Dorsey, the 11-year-old son of late “Glee” star Naya Rivera, is making his acting debut in an independent film directed by Evan Coury.
The boy will appear alongside his father, Ryan Dorsey, 43, in “The Burning Valley,” a drama about deindustrialization in a Rust Belt town. Josey’s role is listed as “Boy” and his father’s as “Father” on the project’s IMDb page. Production began in Pennsylvania earlier this week, with the cast scheduled to shoot near the Allegheny River in the western part of the state next month.
Coury described the film’s premise to TribLive in an interview published Sunday.
“The movie is about a steelworker who loses his job when the mill announces a shutdown,” the director said. “It sets him on a journey as he wanders through his Rust Belt town.”
Coury characterized the forthcoming movie as capturing the emotional truth of deindustrialization.
Ryan said in July that he has been actively supporting his son’s preparation for the role. The West Virginia-based father has also encouraged Josey’s musical development as a way to maintain connection to his mother’s legacy.
“He’s been taking piano lessons for a little over a year now, and he’s getting pretty good. It’s the one thing I connected with his mom,” Ryan told the outlet.
Ryan shared the guidance he has given his son about sticking with the instrument.
“I said, ‘Your mom — she’s always listening … You don’t understand now, but one day when you’re an adult or maybe even a teenager, you’re going to thank me. You’re never going to quit as long as you’re living with me.'”
The father and son maintain a garden at their West Virginia home filled with roses and flowers that they call “Mommy’s Garden,” another way they have kept Rivera’s presence in their daily lives.
Ryan broke his silence about Rivera’s death in that same July interview, recounting what Josey, then 4, remembered from the accident. The boy told his father that Rivera had not been wearing a life jacket and had used her strength to boost him back onto the boat before she disappeared into the water at Lake Piru in California. Another boater found Josey asleep on the vessel alone. Rivera’s body was recovered five days later.
Rivera died on July 8, 2020, at age 33. She was best known for playing Santana Lopez on the musical television series “Glee,” a role that made her a household name. She also appeared as Hillary Winston in the early 1990s sitcom “The Royal Family.”
The boy’s entry into acting mirrors the path his mother took from child performer to established screen presence. Rivera began her own career young, appearing in commercials before landing her first series regular role.
Ryan gushed to the outlet about watching his son prepare for “The Burning Valley.”
Filming for “The Burning Valley” continues in Pennsylvania with the Allegheny River shoot scheduled for next month.
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