Naya Rivera’s son Josey lands first movie role 6 years after his mom’s tragic death
Josey Dorsey, the son of the late Naya Rivera, is set to follow in his parent's footsteps and enter the world of film and TV.
The ten-year-old will make his feature film debut in Evan Coury’s The Burning Valley, according to IMBD.com.
Josey will appear as a character known as 'son', while his dad Ryan Dorsey will also feature in the movie and is currently listed as 'father' on the film's IMDB page.
As such, you'd expect the father-son duo to appear on screen together when the feature film releases.
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PEOPLE reports that filming on the project began earlier this month, though there is no official synopsis for The Burning Valley as of yet. However, Coury, who is making his directorial debut on the movie, spoke to The Tribune-Review about what fans can expect.
“The movie is about a steelworker who loses his job when the mill announces a shutdown,” Coury told the newspaper.
“It sets him on a journey as he wanders through his Rust Belt town. My hope is to encapsulate the history of our region through one guy’s personal experience."
Tyler Miles, JB Brown, Joseph Ducar, Whip Hubley, Patrick Jordan, Sam Lothard, Joseph Mazza and Sheila McKenna will complete the cast for The Burning Valley, according to IMDB.
Naya Rivera's tragic death in 2020
Josey's mother, Glee star Rivera, tragically died in 2020 after going missing from a boat on Lake Piru in California in 2020.
Josey, who was just four at the time, was found alone on the pontoon boat that they had rented, while Rivera was nowhere to be seen.
Authorities recovered the 33-year-old's body from the water several days later, and it was later revealed she died as a result of accidental drowning.
In 2025, Dorsey sat down with PEOPLE for his first interview since Rivera's death, revealing how Josey feels guilt for not being able to save his mom.
'The last thing she said was his name'
"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.
"I keep reassuring him, 'Buddy, that rope wasn’t going to be long enough'."
Dorsey went on to speak of his son's final memory of his mom, saying: "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."
Speaking to Page Six more recently, Dorsey also revealed that they are keeping Rivera's memory alive by having a 'Mommy Garden' dedicated to her.
“There’s roses and flowers and all these things that come back every year,” Dorsey told the outlet. “And [Josey] waters it when it needs to be watered and kind of takes care of that. It kind of looks like a wishing well. So we put that up for her.”
'For all he’s been through, he’s a super happy, charming, busy, smart kid'
Dorsey went on to say there are often little quirks and things that his son does which remind him of Riveria.
He continued: "He does certain things — little laughs and voices that I don’t even know that he knows that she used to do — well, I tell him — that remind me of silly things that she used to do and say.
"For all he’s been through, he’s a super happy, charming, busy, smart kid.”
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV
Callum Jones