Donald Joseph “DJ” Qualls (born June 12, 1974) is an American fashion model and actor. He has appeared in many successful movies playing minor roles. He is an accomplished model who has often balanced modelling to accommodate his acting.
Qualls was born to Debbie and Donnie Qualls in Tullahoma, Tennessee, one of five children. He was raised in Manchester, Tennessee and attended school nearby. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, at age 14, and after two years of treatment, his cancer was said to be in remission. After graduating in 1992 from Coffee County Central High School, in Manchester, Tennessee, Qualls attended the University of London in England where he studied English and literature. He returned to Tennessee in 1995 and in 1997 enrolled in Belmont University in Nashville, where he also began acting in a local theatre company. It was there a performance, that was discovered by photographers David LaChapelle and Steve Klein, and later signed him as a model for Prada and Calvin Klein.
He was an extra in the HBO movie Against the Wall in 1994. He landed the small role of Jason in the television miniseries Mama Flora's Family (1998) while participating for free in Community Theater. After auditioning for a one-liner in Road Trip (2000) he was asked to come from the Atlanta office to meet producer Ivan Reitman in California. Qualls debuted in Road Trip as shy virgin Kyle Edwards. After the movie was released, Qualls was reportedly afraid people would think his personality was the same as that of the character he played in the movie.
After Road Trip, Qualls increasingly worked as a model, working for Prada and with photographers David LaChapelle and Steve Klein. In Cherry Falls (2000), he played Wally, another virgin. In 2001 he played Neil Lawrence in Chasing Holden.
In 2002, he appeared as Archie in Comic Book Villains, on the "My Student" episode of Scrubs, Andrew in Big Trouble, Junior in Lone Star State of Mind, and Dizzy Gillespie Harrison in The New Guy. In the sci-fi film The Core, he played the part of “Rat”, a genius computer programmer. Among other things, the character is also a virgin.
His television work includes appearances on Monk, Criminal Minds, Lost, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, CSI, Numb3rs, My Name Is Earl, and The Big Bang Theory. Qualls spewed a string of profanity when he was chastised for “ruining” the surprise aspect of a surprise party in an episode of Punk'd.
Qualls starred in the comedy Delta Farce with Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy, which was released on May 11, 2007.
Qualls also played a cameo in Britney Spears’ music video, "Boys", and he was also in the "I’m Just a Kid" music video by Simple Plan.
He maintains a residence in Chicago, Illinois, community of Lakeview.
Based on interviews with Conan O'Brien, DJ has stated that he lives a very frugal lifestyle, in case he “loses a leg or an eye and never gets any work again”. He also loves to travel the world with "ultimate fan" Tim Kelly. DJ also plays World of Warcraft under the name of Timelordwho.
Dating actress Nikki Reed since 2006.
