Jeff Cohen, forever remembered as Chunk from The Goonies, became an \u201980s icon with his Hawaiian shirt and unforgettable Truffle Shuffle. But the real story behind the actor is far more surprising. Born Jeffrey Bertan McMahon in 1974, he later adopted the last name \u201cCohen\u201d from his mother after his parents separated. Before landing his famous role, he appeared in several TV shows, including Child\u2019s Play and Body Language. During The Goonies, he secretly filmed scenes while recovering from chickenpox, determined not to lose the part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the film\u2019s success, Cohen\u2019s acting career abruptly stalled when puberty drastically changed his appearance. He later joked, \u201cI didn\u2019t give up acting \u2014 acting gave me up.\u201d With roles disappearing, he shifted his focus to school, sports, and eventually college at UC Berkeley, where he played football briefly and became a well-known personality on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout this transition, director Richard Donner remained a strong mentor. Donner even paid for Cohen\u2019s college tuition and encouraged him to consider the business side of entertainment. This support helped guide Cohen toward a new path behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cohen continued his education, earning degrees from UC Berkeley and UCLA Law. He later co-founded the law firm Cohen & Gardner LLP, becoming a respected entertainment attorney. His office soon filled with gifts and notes from major figures like Steven Spielberg and Donner, reflecting his deep Hollywood connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As his legal career grew, Cohen earned recognition on industry \u201cTop Executive\u201d lists. Despite leaving acting, he maintained close friendships with former castmates, especially Ke Huy Quan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a full-circle moment, Cohen negotiated Quan\u2019s contract for Everything Everywhere All at Once, contributing to Quan\u2019s remarkable comeback. During his Oscar acceptance speech, Quan thanked him warmly as \u201cmy Goonies brother for life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now 51, Jeff Cohen has built a career that rivals \u2014 and arguably surpasses \u2014 his childhood fame. His journey shows how reinvention, resilience, and the right support can turn a former child star into a respected industry leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cohen\u2019s story remains a testament to finding success long after the spotlight fades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jeff Cohen, forever remembered as Chunk from The Goonies, became an \u201980s icon with his Hawaiian shirt and unforgettable Truffle Shuffle. But the real story behind the actor is far more surprising. Born Jeffrey Bertan McMahon in 1974, he later adopted the last name \u201cCohen\u201d from his mother after his parents separated. Before landing his …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18109,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18107\/revisions\/18109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnews55.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}