“Chunk” Wasn’t Left Behind—He Rewrote The Script: What Jeff Cohen Looks Like Today, And How He Got There

If you grew up quoting “Truffle Shuffle,” here’s the twist: Jeff Cohen, who played Chunk in The Goonies (1985), didn’t disappear—he reinvented himself. The once goofy kid with the big grin is now a sharp, successful entertainment lawyer shaping the deals behind today’s biggest films and shows.

After The Goonies, Cohen faced the usual child-actor hurdles. As puberty changed his look, acting roles dried up. Instead of chasing fame, he pivoted toward education and business, taking his mother’s maiden name, studying at UC Berkeley, and earning a law degree from UCLA.

His former director, Richard Donner, played a part in this transformation—helping Cohen financially after writing him a college recommendation letter. That early support helped launch a completely new chapter.

At Berkeley, Cohen thrived as student body president, and later, at UCLA, he specialized in business law. By 2002, he co-founded Cohen Gardner LLP in Beverly Hills, representing clients in entertainment, media, and tech.

Hollywood soon took notice: Variety and The Hollywood Reporter named him among the top dealmakers and rising executives. His deep understanding of both the creative and corporate sides of the industry set him apart.

In a full-circle moment, Cohen helped his former co-star Ke Huy Quan negotiate his Oscar-winning role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. When Quan thanked his “Goonies brother” onstage, it became a viral Hollywood reunion.

Today, Cohen is more than a lawyer—he’s a teacher and author of The Dealmaker’s Ten Commandments, proving that true success isn’t about staying in the spotlight but mastering the business behind it.