Personal details
- Birth Date: 1980-05-23
- Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Birth Location: New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Parents: Donald Cotrona
- Professions: Actor, Writer, Producer
D.J. Cotrona, born May 23, 1980, out of New Haven, Connecticut—yeah, the same place where a lot of Ivy League folks roam—jumped into the Hollywood scene and never really looked back. This guy’s face might ring a bell for anyone who’s been glued to action flicks in the last decade or so. He’s not just an actor, either; he’s thrown his hat in the ring as a writer too, proving he’s not just another pretty face with biceps and a jawline you could crack walnuts on. Most people first spotted him in “Dear John” back in 2010, where he played alongside Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried. Not exactly a walk in the park, acting in a sappy Nicholas Sparks adaptation, but Cotrona held his own. Flash forward a few years, and boom—he lands a role in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” in 2013. That’s the one with The Rock, Bruce Willis, and enough explosions to make Michael Bay jealous. Cotrona played Flint, that cocky-yet-charming soldier who always manages to look unbothered, even when the world’s going up in flames. Then, in 2019, he popped up in “Shazam!” as one of the grown-up superhero versions of Billy Batson’s foster siblings. Not a massive role, but if you blinked, you missed his cool superhero suit and the kind of smirk that says, “Yeah, I know I look good in spandex.” Off-screen, he keeps it pretty chill—no wild tabloid stories, just a dude who loves his craft. Not bad for a kid from New Haven, right?
Man, movies have always been my thing. Back in the day, my buddy and I would grab this old camera—nothing fancy, just whatever we could find—and we’d spend weekends making the dumbest, wildest little films you could imagine. Low-budget disasters, but we thought we were geniuses. It’s wild to think about it now because he actually made something of it—he’s out there, working for one of those big-time special effects companies. Meanwhile, I’m still hooked on that magic, you know? There’s something about the way we’d just go for it, no script, no plan, just pure chaos and fun. Those early days, messing around, taught me more about storytelling than any class ever could. It wasn’t about being perfect, just about making something. That’s where the love for all this started. And honestly, that vibe never really leaves you.
May 23, 1980
5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Donald Cotrona and Surekha
45 years old