Glee star Naya Rivera's son Josey, 10, makes film debut alongside dad Ryan Dorsey, six years after her death

Josey Hollis Dorsey, the son of late Glee star Naya Rivera and actor Ryan Dorsey, has landed his debut film role, sharing the screen with his father in the process, according to an IMDb page for the 10-year-old.

The project, titled The Burning Valley, marks writer-director Evan Coury's first time behind the camera. On IMDb, Josey's role is currently listed simply as "Son," while Ryan Dorsey is credited as "Father."

A story rooted in history

While a full synopsis has yet to surface online, Coury opened up about the film's premise in a conversation with the Tribune-Review, a Pennsylvania-based newspaper, quoted by People, where filming got underway in August. According to Coury, the story follows a steelworker whose life is upended when his mill shuts down, sending him drifting through his declining Rust Belt hometown.

The choice of setting is personal for Coury. Having grown up in New Kensington, Pennsylvania — close to the Brackenridge and Arnold communities where the film is being shot — the director described the project to the Tribune-Review in intimate terms, aiming to capture regional history through a single character's lens.

Before this directorial debut, Coury had built a modest acting résumé, including a role in the 2015 short film Adopted and an appearance in 2022's Dear Zoe, which starred Sadie Sink.

Rounding out the ensemble, per IMDb, are Tyler Miles, JB Brown, Joseph Ducar, Whip Hubley, Patrick Jordan, Sam Lothard, Joseph Mazza and Sheila McKenna.

Following a path that started on stage

This isn't Josey's first brush with performing. Two years earlier, he made his acting debut at age 8 in a school production of Seussical Jr. in West Virginia, according to NBC affiliate KTVB. That production came not long after Josey and his father left Los Angeles for West Virginia in 2023, as People had previously reported.

Ryan Dorsey's own résumé spans a range of prestige television, having appeared in Yellowstone, Ray Donovan, Justified and, most recently, Palm Royale.

A milestone overshadowed by loss

Josey's on-screen debut lands roughly six years after his mother's passing. Naya Rivera died on July 8, 2020, at age 33, in a tragedy that unfolded during what should have been an ordinary outing. She and Josey had gone swimming from a rented boat on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California, when she ran into trouble in the water and drowned.