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IMDbPro

Joel Coen

  • Producer
  • Writer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000250
Joel Coen at an event for Burn After Reading (2008)
A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on on Larry Gopnik (Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother (Kind) won't move out of the house.
Play trailer1:41
A Serious Man (2009)
8 Videos
99+ Photos
Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel married actress Frances McDormand in 1984 and had an adopted son.
BornNovember 29, 1954
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornNovember 29, 1954
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000250
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 4 Oscars

Photos122

Joel Coen and Bruce Davison in Spies Like Us (1985)
Joel Coen in Charlie Rose (1991)
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen in Burn After Reading (2008)
George Clooney, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen in Burn After Reading (2008)
Brad Pitt, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen in Burn After Reading (2008)
John Malkovich, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen in Burn After Reading (2008)
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen in True Grit (2010)
Jeff Bridges, Ethan Coen, and Joel Coen in True Grit (2010)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit (2010)
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Brian Grazer in Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Known for

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
7.3
  • Producer
  • 2018
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
The Tragedy of Macbeth
7.1
  • Producer(produced by)
  • 2021
Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Inside Llewyn Davis
7.4
  • Producer
  • 2013
John Turturro in Barton Fink (1991)
Barton Fink
7.6
  • Producer(uncredited)
  • 1991

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

  • Fargo (2014)
    Fargo
  • The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
    The Tragedy of Macbeth
    • (produced by)
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill in Hail, Caesar! (2016)
    Hail, Caesar!
    • (produced by)
  • Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
    Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
    Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit (2010)
    True Grit
  • Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man (2009)
    A Serious Man
  • Burn After Reading (2008)
    Burn After Reading
  • Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men (2007)
    No Country for Old Men
  • Romance & Cigarettes (2005)
    Romance & Cigarettes
  • Tom Hanks, Tzi Ma, Marlon Wayans, Irma P. Hall, Ryan Hurst, and J.K. Simmons in The Ladykillers (2004)
    The Ladykillers
  • Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Tony Cox, and Brett Kelly in Bad Santa (2003)
    Bad Santa
  • Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
    Intolerable Cruelty
    • (uncredited)
  • Frances McDormand, Billy Bob Thornton, and James Gandolfini in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
    The Man Who Wasn't There
    • (uncredited)

Writer

  • The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
    The Tragedy of Macbeth
  • Pandemic Players (2020)
    Pandemic Players
  • Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken, John Turturro, Bobby Cannavale, Pete Davidson, and Audrey Tautou in The Jesus Rolls (2019)
    The Jesus Rolls
    • (uncredited)
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • Julianne Moore, Matt Damon, and Oscar Isaac in Suburbicon (2017)
    Suburbicon
  • George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill in Hail, Caesar! (2016)
    Hail, Caesar!
  • Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies (2015)
    Bridge of Spies
  • Jack O'Connell in Unbroken (2014)
    Unbroken
  • Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
    Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Cameron Diaz, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Florian Ballhaus, Sidney Carroll, Stuart Craig, Rolfe Kent, Mike Lobell, Adam Ripp, Paul Tothill, and Rob Paris in Gambit (2012)
    Gambit
  • Intolerable Cruelty: Scene Study (2011)
    Intolerable Cruelty: Scene Study
  • Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit (2010)
    True Grit
  • Ni Yan in A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop (2009)
    A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
  • Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man (2009)
    A Serious Man
  • Burn After Reading (2008)
    Burn After Reading

Director

  • The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
    The Tragedy of Macbeth
    • (directed by)
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  • George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill in Hail, Caesar! (2016)
    Hail, Caesar!
    • (directed by)
  • Oscar Isaac in Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
    Inside Llewyn Davis
  • Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit (2010)
    True Grit
  • Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man (2009)
    A Serious Man
  • Burn After Reading (2008)
    Burn After Reading
  • World Cinema (2007)
    World Cinema
  • To Each His Own Cinema (2007)
    To Each His Own Cinema
    • (segment World Cinema)
  • Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men (2007)
    No Country for Old Men
  • Paris, je t'aime (2006)
    Paris, je t'aime
    • (segment Tuileries)
  • Tom Hanks, Tzi Ma, Marlon Wayans, Irma P. Hall, Ryan Hurst, and J.K. Simmons in The Ladykillers (2004)
    The Ladykillers
  • Parisienne People by Joel & Ethan Coen (2003)
    Parisienne People by Joel & Ethan Coen
  • Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
    Intolerable Cruelty
    • (directed by)
  • Frances McDormand, Billy Bob Thornton, and James Gandolfini in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
    The Man Who Wasn't There
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Star Siblings: Famous Brothers and Sisters

Star Siblings: Famous Brothers and Sisters

Take a look at some of our favorite celebrity siblings, including Toby Sebastian and Florence Pugh, and Bill and Alexander Skarsgård.
See the gallery
[object Object]
Photos

Videos8

5 Forgotten Gems From 1990
Clip 4:04
5 Forgotten Gems From 1990
'Buster Scruggs': The Coen Bros.' Misunderstood, Misanthropic Masterwork
Clip 3:23
'Buster Scruggs': The Coen Bros.' Misunderstood, Misanthropic Masterwork
A Guide to the Films of the Coen Brothers
Clip 1:56
A Guide to the Films of the Coen Brothers
"Living Arrangements" from A Serious Man
Clip 0:44
"Living Arrangements" from A Serious Man
"I Tried to Be a Serious Man" from A Serious Man
Clip 0:58
"I Tried to Be a Serious Man" from A Serious Man
A Serious Man -- Trailer #1
Trailer 1:41
A Serious Man -- Trailer #1
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:32
Official Trailer
Bureaucracy
Trailer 1:17
Bureaucracy

Personal details

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    • November 29, 1954
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
    • Frances McDormandApril 1, 1984 - present (1 child)
    • Pedro McDormand Coen
    • Ethan Coen(Sibling)
  • Other works
    TV commercial: Directed a commercial for H & R Block tax service.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 7 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 13 Interviews
    • 15 Articles
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    When an actor improvises a line on the set, he will almost invariably say something like, "That was great, but could you do it like it's written in the script?" Most Coen brothers films are the same (line for line) when released as they are on the page in the final draft of the script.
  • Quotes
    Frequently we are writing characters and we are thinking, "Wouldn't it be interesting to see such and such play this kind of a person?", and the character starts to grow out of that as you are writing it. It's a combination of things that you are making up and what you know about the actor.
    • Frequently casts Steve Buscemi (6 times), spouse Frances McDormand (5 times), Jon Polito (5 times), John Goodman (5 times), John Turturro (4 times), George Clooney (3 times), Michael Badalucco (3 times), Charles Durning (twice), M. Emmet Walsh (twice), Peter Stormare (twice), Richard Jenkins (twice), John Mahoney (twice), Tony Shalhoub (twice), Stephen Root (4 times), and Billy Bob Thornton (twice).

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