Sunday, August 30, 2026 - Naya Rivera’s son, Josey Dorsey, is following in his late mother’s footsteps as an actor six years after she tragically died. The 10-year-old is set to make his acting debut alongside his father, Ryan Dorsey, in the forthcoming Evan Coury-directed film The Burning Valley.
His role is currently listed as “Boy,” while Ryan’s is “Father.” Filming for the project started in Pennsylvania earlier this week, and the cast will head toward the Allegheny River in the western end of the state next month.
“The movie is about a steelworker who loses his job when the mill announces a shutdown,” Coury said. “It sets him on a journey as he wanders through his Rust Belt town.” Coury described the forthcoming movie as the emotional truth of deindustrialization.
Josey’s debut on the big screen comes after Rivera died in a drowning accident while on a boat with her son at Lake Piru in California on July 8, 2020. She was 33. Before booking his first film role, Josey made his acting debut at age 8 in a West Virginia theater production of Seussical Jr. in 2024.
Aside from acting, Josey has kept his mom’s memory alive by learning how to play the piano. Ryan has said his son has been taking piano lessons for more than a year and that it is one of the things he connected with his mother.
Josey and Ryan also have a garden with roses and flowers at their West Virginia home that they call “Mommy’s Garden.” Now, as Josey takes his first steps into film, his new role marks another important chapter in the young actor’s life and a poignant connection to his mother’s legacy.
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