D. J. Cotrona

Donald Joseph Cotrona (born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, known for his role in the film G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) and as Seth Gecko in the El Rey Network horror television series From Dusk till Dawn. He was cast as Pedro Peña in the DC Extended Universe film Shazam! and returned for the role in the 2023 sequel. Early life Cotrona was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His mother, Sheree, is a teacher, and his father, Donald, works for a recycling company. Cotrona has partial Italian ancestry. He began studying to be a lawyer at Northeastern University in Boston, but after doing a summer internship at a law firm, he realized that he did not like working with lawyers. In his sophomore year, he switched to acting. During his spring break, he went to visit a friend in Los Angeles and never returned to college. Career After a few guest-starring roles, Cotrona was considered for the role of Ryan Atwood on the television series The O.C. but that role went to Ben McKenzie. Shortly after that, Cotrona was cast as the male lead in another of Fox's new dramas of 2003, Skin, produced by the Jerry Bruckheimer. Cotrona played Adam Roam, the son of the Los Angeles District Attorney. His character becomes involved with Jewel Goldman (Olivia Wilde), whose father runs a pornography company. With their fathers' feud looming over them, they pursue a "Romeo and Juliet" relationship. Skin was cancelled after three episodes aired, due to poor ratings and the controversial story lines. All eight episodes of the series were shown on SOAPnet in 2005. Cotrona appeared in the 2005 horror film Venom, which was directed by Jim Gillespie. Cotrona also starred in the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival film Love is the Drug.