SAG-AFTRA • FILM • TELEVISION
01— THE REEL
THE WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
From quiet vulnerability to heightened conflict, comedy and drama, Dontez approaches each role by finding the person underneath the character.
Watch selected moments from Dontez’s work across film and television.
02 — THE ACTOR
EVERY CHARACTER IS A LIFE WAITING TO BE LIVED.
Dontez X. James is a SAG-AFTRA actor whose work spans film and television, bringing instinct, vulnerability and emotional truth to characters across drama, comedy and independent cinema.
From My Friend Dahmer and The Assassin’s Code to recurring work on Made for Love and an appearance on All American, each role represents another chapter in a career built through persistence, curiosity and an evolving understanding of the craft.
03 — SELECTED WORK
CHARACTERS. WORLDS. MOMENTS.
Across film and television, Dontez has built a body of work through characters living in very different worlds—each demanding something different from him as a performer.
MY FRIEND DAHMER
Charlie Smith
A defining early film role that marked Dontez’s transition into playing named characters on screen.
THE ASSASSIN’S CODE
David Paris
A substantial supporting film role that gave Dontez the opportunity to develop David Paris within a dramatic crime thriller.
MADE FOR LOVE
Donnie
A television role that grew across multiple episodes of the dark comedy series.
ALL AMERICAN
Jono Prince
Dontez joined the long-running sports drama as Jono Prince, a Heisman-winning quarterback and NFL Draft prospect.
04 — THE RANGE
THE CHARACTER CHANGES.
THE TRUTH DOESN’T.
Across his work, Dontez is drawn to characters carrying something beneath the surface—fear, ambition, humor, grief, uncertainty, confidence or contradiction.
Whether the performance is quiet and internal or heightened and unpredictable, the approach remains the same: understand the person before judging the character.
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VULNERABILITY
Finding the emotion a character may be trying not to reveal.
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INSTINCT
Allowing behavior, listening and discovery to keep a performance alive.
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TRANSFORMATION
Approaching every character as a different human being rather than another version of himself.
The goal isn’t to be seen acting. It’s to make the character feel lived in.
05 — THE RESPONSE
WHEN THE WORK LEAVES YOUR HANDS, IT BELONGS TO THE AUDIENCE.
A performance begins with preparation, but its impact is ultimately measured by what reaches the other side of the screen.
Across Dontez’s career, his work has become part of critical conversations, audience reactions and stories that continued long after the cameras stopped rolling.
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DALLAS OBSERVER
READ THE REVIEWMy Friend Dahmer
Critical coverage discussing Charlie Smith and the film’s exploration of race, isolation and belonging. -
Weekly Villager
READ THE FEATURERavenna Grad Continues to Grind for the Hollywood Dream
A hometown profile tracing Dontez’s journey from Northeast Ohio to film, television and publishing. -
VOYAGEOHIO
READ THE INTERVIEWConversations with Dontez James
A career-spanning conversation about storytelling, acting, writing and building a creative life.
06 — THE JOURNEY
EVERY ROLE LEFT SOMETHING BEHIND.
A career isn’t built from a handful of recognizable credits.
Before the recurring roles, larger characters and television appearances came years of smaller opportunities—background work, independent films, short films, day-player roles and moments on set that became an education of their own.
Each job taught Dontez something different about the camera, the business and himself as an actor.
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LAST FLAG FLYING
Dover Air Force Base Guard
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SURVIVING COMPTON
Early television work
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USE OF FORCE
Independent short film
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FALSE GODS
Independent film
No role was wasted. Every set became part of the education.
07 — BEYOND THE SCREEN
STORYTELLING DOESN’T ALWAYS BEGIN WITH A SCRIPT.
Dontez’s work in front of the camera has also extended beyond film and television into commercial and branded storytelling.
From campaigns to collaborations, these projects offered another opportunity to connect performance, culture and visual storytelling in a different kind of frame.
LIDS × THEY GAVE US GAME
A campaign celebrating the history, legacy and cultural impact of Negro Leagues baseball through fashion and storytelling.
08 — THE PRESENT
THE WORK KEEPS EVOLVING.
Every chapter of Dontez’s career has demanded something different from him.
The early years taught him how to exist on a set. The breakthrough roles taught him how to trust his instincts. Years of experience, training and life beyond the camera have continued to deepen his understanding of character.
Today, Dontez approaches the work with something he didn’t have when the journey began: the craft to understand what he’s doing—and the freedom to still let the moment surprise him.
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HOMEFRONT
Trevor Kelly
Homefront represents the actor Dontez is becoming.
As Trevor Kelly, Dontez steps into a leading role built around physical intensity, vulnerability and a man carrying more beneath the surface than he is willing to reveal.
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The goal was never to become the actor he was before. It was to become the actor only those years could create.
