“GOONIES” star JEFF COHEN’s acting dreams were shattered when he slimmed down, but he’s gone on to become a heavyweight entertainment attorney!
The once-portly child star shot to fame at age 10 playing “Chunk,” the junk-food loving teller of tall tales in the 1985 cult classic, but now he does his talking in court.
In an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, the 38-year-old told The ENQUIRER: “Becoming a comic actor was my dream, but then you hit puberty and start to change. And being called ‘Chunk’ all the time was a pretty good incentive to get fit – which I did! I lost weight and started playing football.”
After he slimmed down, Jeff ran into the film’s executive producer Steven Spielberg, who took one look at his new physique and joked: “You used to be Chunk, now you’re a hunk!”
No longer able to audition for the “fat kid” parts he’d become famous for, Jeff pursued another career. He graduated from prestigious UCLA Law School, founded his own law firm and has become one of TinselTown’s top entertainment attorneys.
“I wanted to stay in showbiz, and being an attorney is my way of helping other artists create art,” he explained.
The kid who made the phrase “Truffle Shuffle” famous was named one of “Hollywood’s Top 35 Executives Under 35” by The Hollywood Reporter a few years ago, and he says his clients definitely get a kick out of saying they’re represented by Chunk!
“I was very fortunate to have been in ‘The Goonies’ – and once a Goonie, you’re a Goonie FOR life,” added Jeff, who returned to the movie’s shooting location in Oregon in 2005 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. “But being an entertainment lawyer is pretty great, as well…and I don’t have to audition anymore.”
Another thing that’s great? Being in The ENQUIRER!
“My mom reads The ENQUIRER religiously,” he said, “and she’ll be over the moon that I’m in it!”