If you grew up in the 1980s, chances are Jeff Cohen is permanently etched into your memory — even if you don’t immediately recognize the name.
You remember Chunk.
The loud Hawaiian shirts.
The wide-eyed panic.
The infamous Truffle Shuffle that became a rite of passage for an entire generation of kids.
In The Goonies, Chunk wasn’t just comic relief. He was chaos, vulnerability, and heart rolled into one unforgettable character. But what most people don’t know is that the boy behind the laughs didn’t fade into obscurity or spiral into the tragic “former child star” cliché.
Instead, Jeff Cohen disappeared — and quietly rebuilt himself into something no one saw coming: a powerhouse entertainment attorney who now negotiates deals for the very industry that once rejected him.
His story isn’t just surprising. It’s one of the most dramatic reinventions Hollywood has ever produced.
A Childhood Shaped by Change
Jeff Cohen was born Jeffrey Bertan McMahon on June 25, 1974, in Los Angeles — a city where ambition is contagious and childhood often ends early. His parents separated when he was still very young, an experience that left a lasting mark on his sense of stability and identity.
Not long after, he made a quiet but symbolic decision: he adopted “Cohen” as his professional surname, honoring his mother Elaine’s maiden name. It was an early act of self-definition — a small signal that he was already learning how to control his own narrative in an industry that rarely gives children that power.
Before The Goonies, Cohen was already a familiar face on television. In the early 1980s, he appeared on the CBS game show Child’s Play, helping contestants solve clues. A few years later, he popped up as a young celebrity guest on Body Language. These weren’t blockbuster roles, but they were proof that he belonged in front of a camera.
Hollywood noticed.
Becoming Chunk — and a Pop Culture Legend
Everything changed in 1985.
With Richard Donner directing and Steven Spielberg producing, The Goonies was more than just another kids’ adventure film. It was lightning in a bottle — a story about friendship, fear, bravery, and the messy magic of growing up.
Cohen’s portrayal of Chunk was electric. He wasn’t acting in the traditional sense; he was simply being himself. Donner later said that what made Cohen special was his authenticity — the way emotion poured out of him without calculation.
One of the film’s most iconic moments, the Truffle Shuffle, wasn’t just scripted comedy. It became a cultural artifact. Decades later, people still reference it, parody it, and celebrate it.
What fans didn’t know was that during filming, Cohen was dealing with chickenpox. Afraid he’d be replaced, he hid it from the production team and showed up to set anyway. If you look closely, you can actually spot the marks during the Truffle Shuffle scene — a tiny reminder of how much he wanted to stay in the role.
Despite the success, Cohen later described the audition circuit bluntly and honestly.
“There were basically about four fat kids in town,” he once said. “Every time there was a fat kid role, you saw the same people. It was survival of the fattest.”
It was funny — but also painfully true.
When Hollywood Walked Away
After The Goonies, Cohen hoped to keep acting. He loved it. It wasn’t just a job; it was his identity.
Then puberty happened.
And Hollywood shut the door.
“When I hit puberty, it was a career-ender,” Cohen later explained. “I was transforming from Chunk into something else, and I couldn’t get roles anymore.”
The rejection wasn’t gradual. It was sudden and final.
“It was terrible,” he admitted. “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.”
For a former child star, this kind of moment breaks people. Many spiral. Some cling to relevance. Others vanish entirely.
Cohen did something different.
Reinventing Himself Outside the Spotlight
Instead of chasing auditions that no longer came, Cohen walked away from Hollywood altogether. He focused on school, athletics, and building a life that had nothing to do with being recognized.
At UC Berkeley, he joined the football team — a move that surprised nearly everyone who knew him as Chunk. The hazing was brutal. He joked that he spent plenty of time “knocked on his ass.” But he stuck it out.
Eventually, he became the team’s mic man, leading chants in front of thousands of fans. Of course, they begged him to do the Truffle Shuffle. He resisted — until one day he finally gave in.
The crowd went wild.
But this time, it wasn’t his entire identity. It was just a moment.
Cohen later joked that he works hard to stay fit because he knows how easy it would be to slip back into the role the world assigned him.
“I’m proud that I was a professional fat person,” he said. “Anyone can be an amateur. Who can be a pro?”
The Mentor Who Changed Everything
One relationship from his acting days never faded: his bond with Richard Donner.
When Cohen asked Donner for a college recommendation, the director didn’t just write a letter. He went far beyond that.
Deeply moved by Cohen’s personal journey and struggles, Donner paid for his entire college education. He also helped Cohen land behind-the-scenes studio work, opening doors that didn’t rely on appearance or nostalgia.
It was the bridge between who Cohen was — and who he was about to become.
From Actor to Attorney
Cohen eventually enrolled in law school, specializing in entertainment law. This wasn’t an abstract interest. He knew Hollywood from the inside — the contracts, the power imbalances, the ways young performers could be exploited or discarded.
He understood the system because he had lived it.
Today, Jeff Cohen is a respected entertainment attorney, representing producers, studios, and creatives. He works in the same industry that once reduced him to a stereotype — only now, he’s negotiating the deals instead of auditioning for them.
He didn’t just survive Hollywood.
He mastered it — from the other side of the table.
A Different Kind of Success Story
Jeff Cohen’s journey defies the standard child-star narrative. There was no scandal. No meltdown. No desperate attempt to reclaim fame.
Instead, there was adaptation.
He lost one dream — and built another that gave him control, respect, and longevity.
Chunk will always be part of pop culture history. But Jeff Cohen’s real legacy isn’t the Truffle Shuffle.
It’s the quiet proof that reinvention is possible — even after the world decides you’re done.