This iconic child star was rejected by Hollywood but is now a gorgeous, bald-headed hunk and successful lawyer

After the success of The Goonies, Jeff Cohen would have loved to continue acting, but one thing stood in his way.

”When I hit puberty, it was a career-ender for me. I was transforming from Chunk to hunk, and I couldn’t get roles anymore,” he said.

Then came the line that broke every Goonies fan a little:

“It was terrible. 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.”

So Jeff stepped away from the industry entirely, throwing himself into school, sports, and trying to find an identity beyond Chunk.

He joked later:

“I’m pretty good at exercising and watching my diet because I know I could slide back into Chunk. But I am very proud that I was a professional fat person. Anyone can be an amateur, but who can be a pro?”

Joined the football team

At UC Berkeley, he joined the football team, got through brutal hazing (“I was always knocked on my a**”), and even became the school mic man, where thousands chanted for him to perform the Truffle Shuffle. He finally did it once, and the crowd went ballistic.

There’s no doubt that Jeff Cohen and The Goonies director Richard Donner formed a strong bond during filming. Jeff has since praised Donner for his ability to draw out genuine emotions and natural performances from the kids, helping make the film a timeless classic.

But Donner’s support didn’t stop there. When Jeff asked him for a college recommendation, Donner not only wrote the letter, he was so moved by Jeff’s personal struggles that he generously covered the cost of his entire college education. Donner then helped him land behind-the-scenes jobs at studios.

Jeff recalls Donner booming at him:

“Hey kid, what do you want to do?”Continue reading…