Few movies from the 80s come close to matching what The Goonies has been able to accomplish in the years since its release. A movie about a group of kids looking for a long lost treasure turned into a legitimate classic of the era that continues to find legions of new fans each year.
Jeff Cohen was the child actor who played Chunk in the movie, and he could not have been better in the role. However, as the years went by, Cohen seemingly disappeared from Hollywood altogether. How did a successful child actor disappear in the blink of an eye?
Let’s look at Jeff Cohen’s acting career and how he made his way back into the entertainment industry.
He Rose To Prominence In The 80s
Back in the 80s, a number of younger performers were able to carve a place for themselves in the industry on television and the big screen. Jeff Cohen was able to land a number of roles that garnered him mainstream attention, with the biggest one coming as Chunk in The Goonies.
Prior to the 1985 release of The Goonies, Cohen was putting together work on the small screen. Tales from the Darkside, Webster, Kids Incorporated, and Family Ties were all shows that Cohen was able to appear on before landing the role of Chunk. While these appearances were not in major roles, they still got the young actor plenty of experience.
In 1985, Cohen starred in The Goonies and became a sensation as Chunk. That film has been able to thrive for over 35 years now, and Chunk remains as popular and as loved as ever. Despite being a movie driven by younger actors, The Goonies has turned into a classic since its release. The young performers in the film were able to give incredible performances that have been able to stand the test of time.
However, the entertainment industry is one that is difficult to navigate, and even though Cohen had broken out in a hit movie, things would not be so easy for the young actor moving forward. In fact, he would soon learn the cold reality that Hollywood is quick to dispose of its performers, no matter how recognizable they are.
Roles Were Harder To Come By As He Got Older
After Jeff Cohen became popular in the mainstream as Chunk, some may have figured that he would thrive in the business for years, but the truth is that things wound up drying up for the actor. While he had acting chops, 1980s Hollywood was a much different place than it is now. This meant that Cohen was only ever going to be up for certain roles, which ultimately led to his acting career petering out.
“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. 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. 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 former actor said.
According to IMDb, Cohen would go on to appear in projects like Ask Max, The Wonderful World of Disney, She’s The Sheriff, and Perfect Harmony, but these roles never made it past 1991. Eventually, Cohen was done with acting, but years later, he would find himself working in a different facet of the business.
He Is An Entertainment Lawyer
There are plenty of ways to work in the entertainment industry, and for Jeff Cohen, his work in the industry is as an entertainment lawyer. Cohen attended UC Berkeley and UCLA, and he has since become a partner at his own law firm down in Beverly Hills.
“My clients get a kick out of the fact their lawyer is Chunk. They dig it. With my job, I’m dealing with legitimately famous people, so it’s just silly and fun. I’m usually only the fifth most famous person in the room at any one time,” said Cohen.
Cohen would also touch on why he chose being an entertainment lawyer, saying, “I co-founded the entertainment law firm Cohen Gardner LLP back in 2002. We negotiate deals for actors, directors, production companies, technology companies, producers. It’s been great. I’m now able to protect my clients the way I wanted to be protected when I was a kid.”
Even though Hollywood was unkind to a young Jeff Cohen, the man who played Chunk grew up to become a successful entertainment lawyer. He loved his time as Chunk, but don’t ask him to do the Truffle Shuffle.
