Where Is Chunk From the Goonies Now?

Jeff Cohen - the actor who played Chunk in The Goonies - was a childhood actor and a charismatic tour de force. So what happened to him? Where is Cohen aka Chunk now?

He is featured in a video on Facebook that pops up now and again. The video is from 1985 when Cohen was doing the press rounds to promote The Goonies. What's remarkable in this video is he’s alone and being interviewed by an adult (Terry Wogan) on an adult talk show.

And do you know what? Cohen is completely holding his own. He is magnetic. Here is an 11-year-old boy full of confidence, jokes and a star personality captivating both the audience and presenter with aplomb.

You almost want to hate him for being precocious such are his beaming levels of confidence, but you can’t. He’s something to be admired, a rare personality.

In the interview, Jeff is asked his age and he responds “I’m 11 going on 45.” He’s not wrong.

Here’s what’s Chunk did next

If Cohen was an 11-year-old Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, or Russell Brand we’d say: “He was born with star quality, he was destined to be famous.”

Cohen too was born with star quality, but as you know, he’s no longer a star. He did a handful of acting jobs after The Goonies and then quit.

Why? Because acting wasn’t his path.

This raw talent, brimming with potential, the hot ticket in Hollywood, just decided to do something else.

Cohen must have faced endless pressure to live up to expectations from family, friends, co-workers, and especially from his agent.

But just because you're good at something doesn't mean it's what you have to do. He recognised he wanted out, so got out to pursue something new.

Of course, the truth is never that simple, these things never are.

Cohen claims the onset of puberty forced him to quit, but Christian Bale was a child star, as was Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster, and his Goonies co-star Mikey played by Sean Austin went on to have success paying Samwise the Brave in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Cohen could have continued acting, but he chose something new.

Cohen said acting “gets under your skin” and "you don’t give it up voluntarily", but Cohen didn’t begrudgingly move careers, he embraced it.

He went into law, influenced by the men behind the movies. He even claimed the big lawyers in Hollywood were his “new heroes”.

He didn’t fizzle out or party too much, he made an active choice to reinvent himself. He followed his nose and took the opportunities presented.

Everyone has their own path

The idea of giving up a promising Hollywood career to become a lawyer seems like madness but here's the lesson: Everyone has their own path and this is what Chunk (sorry, Jeff Cohen) has shown.

You should always do you.

Not what others expect, not what looks best or has the most status but what resonates most with you.

It’s easy to judge people for their decisions, but everyone’s natural inclination is different, the trick is to understand how you might be different and lean into that edge.

That’s what you were born with, a calling.

Steven Pressfield said most addiction comes from running from your calling — energy is poured into creating a shadow life to avoid embracing the real you.

Refusal of the call is a step of any hero’s journey.

Jeff Cohen is no longer Chunk, he's no longer an actor, he now lives a successful and happy life as an attorney with his own law firm.

He’s not an addict, he hasn’t had breakdowns, and by all accounts, he’s a regular Joe.

‘Regular’ is a scary word as no one wants to be regular. But if you follow your calling, you’re never regular, you’re exceptional, you’re doing something most don’t ever do.

Answering the call to adventure is the first day of the rest of your life.

You might seem regular to others because you’re not a film star or a billionaire, but you’re a hero on your own journey, trying to live authentically, even if that means working behind a desk in a law office like Cohen.

The closer you get to the real you, the quieter your mind becomes.

And isn’t that what we’re all seeking, inner peace? Maybe, to find it, we all need to be a bit more like Chunk.