FORMER child star, Jeff Cohen, hasn’t strayed too far from the entertainment business.
The California native is now representing some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
Jeff Cohen (as Chuck) shouting through a hole in a scene from the 1985 film, GooniesGetty Images – Getty
Who is Goonies star, Jeff Cohen?
Jeffrey Bertan Cohen was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 1974.
The former child actor is best remembered for his role as Chunk in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film, The Goonies.
Since then, Cohen revealed to the Daily Mail in 2015 that he was “forced” to quit Hollywood when he stopped being able to put himself forward in the “fat kid roles.”
“There were basically about four fat kids in town, so every time there was a fat kid role you saw the same people at the audition,’ he told the outlet.
“It was survival of the fattest. But when I hit puberty, it was a career ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk and I couldn’t get roles any more.”
Cohen continued: “It was terrible. My first love was acting but puberty had other ideas. It was a forced retirement. I didn’t give up acting. Acting gave me up.”
The now-48-year-old is an attorney and founding partner of the law firm, Cohen Gardner LLP.
Cohen received BS in business from the University of California, Berkeley, and later earned his law degree from the UCLA School of Law.
What is Jeff Cohen’s net worth?
Since leaving the world of acting behind, Cohen launched his career in law and has become a successful entertainment attorney with an office located in Beverly Hills.
According to the bio found on his firm’s website: “Jeff co-founded Cohen Gardner LLP in 2002 and focuses on transactional representation for clients in the entertainment, media and technology verticals.
“He has been named by Variety to both its Dealmakers Impact List and Legal Impact List. He has been profiled by The Hollywood Reporter, The ABA Journal, Chambers Associate, Law Crossing and others.”
The author and active writer is said to have an estimated net worth of $4million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
He has over 18.5k followers on his Instagram page @jeff_b_cohen, where he often shares parts of his life and work.
(L-R) Jeff Cohen, Ana de Armas, and Ke Huy Quan at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 12, 2023Getty Images – Getty
What did Ke Huy Quan say about Cohen at the Oscars?
Cohen and Ke Huy Quan have remained good friends since being featured in Goonies together nearly four decades ago.
Quan – who played Data in the iconic ’80s adventure/comedy – recently made a comeback to Hollywood since quitting the business nearly 20 years ago after not being able to book a gig.
“For the longest time, I couldn’t get a job,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in a January 2023 roundtable interview.
“Hollywood didn’t want me. There were no roles for me. I spent the majority of my late teens and early 20s just waiting for the phone to ring, and it rarely rang, so I had no choice but to step away.”
Nevertheless, on March 12, 2023, Quan was awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Waymond Wang in the film, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
While tearfully accepting his award, the 51-year-old gave a shout-out to “My ‘Goonies’ brother for life, Jeff Cohen.”
Turns out Cohen is not only Quan’s friend, but also his lawyer, who helped negotiate his deal for the role in the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning film which features Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis.
