Naya Rivera’s son, 10, to follow in mother's footsteps with career move six years after her death

The son of Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey has taken on a role in an upcoming film in his first on-screen role at the age of just 10.

Josey Hollis Dorsey will star in upcoming project The Burning Valley, a feature film which has been written and directed by Evan Coury, who previously acted in 2022's Dear Zoe, and the short film Adopted in 2015, according to IMDB.

There not much being given away at the moment, but Josey's name appears on the cast list for the upcoming movie's IMDB page, though at present his role is just listed as 'Son'.

Meanwhile, his father Ryan Dorsey is also listed on the project's page as 'Father'.

The plot of the film appears to still be under wraps, with an official synopsis not yet released on the website, though other members of the cast are listed as JB Brown, Joseph Ducar, Whip Hubley, Patrick Jordan, Sam Lothard, Joseph Mazza, Sheila McKenna, and Tyler Miles.

Coury has provided some clues about some of the themes that the film will explore in an interview with newspaper The Tribune-Review.

Rivera with Josey (CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

In the interview he told the paper, which is based in Pennsylvania where the movie started its filming, that The Burning Valley will explore themes around deindustrialisation.

While he has previous acting experience, the movie will be Coury's debut as a director.

Alluding to the plot, Coury said: “The movie is about a steelworker who loses his job when the mill announces a shutdown.

“It sets him on a journey as he wanders through his Rust Belt town.”

Coury suggested that he is aiming to explore the impacts of closing and failing industries, as well as the impact that this has on communities and individuals.

“My hope is to encapsulate the history of our region through one guy’s personal experience,” he said.

While it's Josey's first time acting in a movie, it's not his first time acting, as he previously trod the boards in a theatre production of Seussical Jr in West Virginia back in 2024, when he was eight years old.

Josey's father Ryan Dorsey (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)

Josey's casting has come six years after his mum, Glee star Naya Rivera, died in a tragic incident.

She and her son had been using a rental boat on Lake Piru in Ventura County, California on July 18 2020.

Rivera had gone swimming off the boat, but drowned after getting into difficulty in the water, aged just 33, with Josey witnessing the tragedy.

Ryan Dorsey gave his first sit down interview since the tragedy to PEOPLE, saying that his and Rivera's young son is 'such a happy kid' despite the awful tragedy, though he said there are also difficult moments sometimes.

“It just rocks my world that he had to witness her last moments," he said.

“He wakes up happy, all energy,” Dorsey told the outlet. “I’m trying to be the best parent that I can be and raise a good little man. He gives me a reason to keep going with my life.”