D.J. Cotrona

The Superman Suit He Never Got to Fly In

In 2008, Donald Joseph Cotrona came close to becoming the most famous man on the planet. George Miller chose him to play Superman in Justice League: Mortal, and the actor traveled to Australia for costume tests. But the writers' strike and a change in the Australian government's tax incentives sank the project just weeks before filming was set to begin.

That heist could have buried his career.

Cotrona was born in New Haven in 1980 and started out studying law, but acting got in his way before he finished his degree. His debut came with Skin in 2003, where critics compared him to a young James Dean for his intense gaze. The series didn't last long on air because audiences didn't connect with a story about the porn industry in Los Angeles.

After that setback, he took supporting roles in productions such as Windfall and the horror film Venom in 2005. He wasn't chasing quick fame and preferred to wait for projects with real physical demands. His patience was his best tool in an industry that forgets names within months.

Robert Rodriguez's Hideaway

Director Robert Rodriguez saw something in him that the rest of the industry had overlooked. In 2014, he cast him as Seth Gecko in the television adaptation of From Dusk Till Dawn for his own TV network. It was a daunting challenge, since Cotrona had to take on a character that George Clooney had made iconic in the movies in the 1990s.

He more than delivered over three seasons.

His professional relationship with Rodriguez continued until 2023, when he appeared in Spy Kids: Armageddon as Devlin. But before that, he had to work through big-budget commercial action films. In 2013, he joined the G.I. Joe: Retaliation franchise, playing Flint and sharing the set with Dwayne Johnson.

Filming in New Orleans was one of the most demanding shoots of his life, due to the high temperatures and the weight of the military gear. And although the movie performed well at the box office, the actor preferred to return to roles with more dialogue and fewer constant explosions. So he went back to television to explore slower-paced storytelling.

A Second Chance in Tights

Fate gave him back some of what Miller took from him in Australia. In 2019, he joined the DC Universe in Shazam!, playing the adult, superhero version of Pedro Peña. It was a stroke of luck that let him fly on the big screen after the disaster of his youth with the Justice League project.

He reprised the same role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods in 2023.

Away from the spotlight, he keeps a low profile and rarely appears at social events unless they're tied to promoting his films. In 2024, his name remained linked to fantasy and physical action projects. His contract for the Netflix production in 2023 included an absolute confidentiality clause covering the use of practical effects on the Austin set.