D.J. Cotrona was born on May 23, 1980 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA as Donald Joseph Cotrona. He is an actor, known for G.I. Joe: Retaliati…D.J. Cotrona was born on May 23, 1980 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA as Donald Joseph Cotrona. He is an actor, known for G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Dear John (2010) and Venom (2005).He has a complex ethnic background. D.J.'s paternal grandfather was of Italian descent, and D.J.'s paternal grandmother had German and Austro-Hungarian ancestry. D.J.'s maternal grandfather was of half Italian and half Polish descent, and D.J.'s maternal grandmother was of half British Isles/English and half Polish ancestry. Thus, D.J. is of three eighths Italian, and one quarter Polish, ancestry, with the rest of his heritage including German, Austro-Hungarian, and English.