Chunk From The Goonies Quit Hollywood—Now He's Unrecognizable in a New Career
Most child stars either burn out, fade out, or get trapped playing the same role for the rest of their lives. Jeff Cohen didn't do any of that. He just vanished — on purpose.
Cohen, who played Chunk in The Goonies, hasn't appeared in a single film or show in decades. And no, it wasn't drugs, scandal, or a breakdown that did it. His reason? Puberty. Specifically, going from "Chunk to hunk," as he put it.
In a 2015 interview with the Daily Mail marking the 30th anniversary of the film, Cohen explained how his looks derailed his career:
"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."
That worked for him — until his body betrayed Hollywood's typecasting system.
"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."
And that was that. Cohen didn't fight to stay in the industry. He moved on — all the way to a law degree.
Today, he's an entertainment attorney with his own firm. And yes, his clients are amused that their lawyer used to do the Truffle Shuffle on screen:
"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."
He even represents his former Goonies castmate Ke Huy Quan, who also stepped away from acting for years before making a surprise return — and winning an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Cohen handled the deal.
As Quan told the press:
"Jeff Cohen, who was in The Goonies with me — he was Chunk — is all grown now and he's an entertainment lawyer. When the producer of our movie was trying to make my deal, he said he never imagined that he'd have to talk to Chunk and Data for his movie."
Financial Trivia:
- The Goonies was released in 1985 and grossed $125 million worldwide on a $19 million budget, becoming one of the biggest cult hits of the decade.
- Jeff Cohen has not acted in anything since 1991.
- His client, Ke Huy Quan, won Best Supporting Actor at the 2023 Oscars.
- Cohen now runs Cohen & Gardner LLP, a firm specializing in entertainment law in Los Angeles.
So, while most former child stars are stuck doing reunion panels or Cameo videos, Jeff Cohen is negotiating deals for Oscar winners. Hollywood didn't want the adult version of Chunk — but he got the last laugh anyway.