Joel Coen
Known for
Joel Coen is an American director born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who for decades co-directed nearly all of his work with brother Ethan Coen as one of American independent cinema's most consistently inventive filmmaking partnerships. Fargo, a darkly comic crime story set amid the frozen Minnesota landscape of their upbringing, won them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became one of the most acclaimed American films of the 1990s, while No Country for Old Men later won them the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture. The Big Lebowski, initially a modest box-office performer, grew into one of the most quoted cult comedies in American film, and True Grit showed their range into more classical Western storytelling. After the brothers began working separately in the 2020s, Joel directed The Tragedy of Macbeth alone, a stark, expressionist Shakespeare adaptation that confirmed his visual command independent of their long partnership.
Joel Coen
26 Directed
1 Series
Joel Coen is an American director born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who for decades co-directed nearly all of his work with brother Ethan Coen as one of American independent cinema's most consistently inventive filmmaking partnerships. Fargo, a darkly comic crime story set amid the frozen Minnesota landscape of their upbringing, won them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and became one of the most acclaimed American films of the 1990s, while No Country for Old Men later won them the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture. The Big Lebowski, initially a modest box-office performer, grew into one of the most quoted cult comedies in American film, and True Grit showed their range into more classical Western storytelling. After the brothers began working separately in the 2020s, Joel directed The Tragedy of Macbeth alone, a stark, expressionist Shakespeare adaptation that confirmed his visual command independent of their long partnership.
Movies
Director
No Country for Old Men
2007
Director
The Big Lebowski
1998
Director
True Grit
2010
Director
Fargo
1996
Director
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000
Director
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2018
Director
Hail, Caesar!
2016
Director
Burn After Reading
2008
Director
The Tragedy of Macbeth
2021
Director
The Ladykillers
2004
Director
Raising Arizona
1987
Director
Inside Llewyn Davis
2013
Director
Blood Simple
1985
Director
A Serious Man
2009
Director
Barton Fink
1991
Director
Miller's Crossing
1990
Director
The Man Who Wasn't There
2001
Director
Intolerable Cruelty
2003
Director
Paris Je T'aime
2006
Director
The Hudsucker Proxy
1994
Director
To Each His Own Cinema
2007
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Darkman
Full Filmography
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Director
2021
Film
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Director
2018
Film
Suburbicon
Writer
2017
Film
Hail, Caesar!
Director
2016
Film
Bridge of Spies
Writer
2015
Film
Unbroken
Screenplay
2014
Film
Fargo
Executive Producer · 51 episodes
2014–
TV
Inside Llewyn Davis
Director
2013
Film
Gambit
Writer
2012
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Joel Coen and where are they from?
Joel Coen is 71 years old, born on November 29, 1954 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
What are the most famous roles of Joel Coen?
Joel Coen is best known for directing No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Fargo.
How many movies has Joel Coen directed?
Over a 41-year career (since 1985), Joel Coen has directed or written 26 films and worked on 1 TV shows.
What was Joel Coen's first movie?
The career of Joel Coen began with Jack of Spades ().
What is Joel Coen's most recent movie or series?
Joel Coen's most recent release is The Tragedy of Macbeth, which premiered on December 5, 2021.
What TV shows has Joel Coen created or directed?
On television, Joel Coen has appeared in Fargo.
Joel Coen
1954-11-29 · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) is an American filmmaker, working with his brother, Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers(/ˈkoʊən/). Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007), A Serious Man (2009), True Grit (2010) and Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).
The brothers generally write, direct and produce their films jointly. However, due to regulations, Joel received sole directing credit while Ethan received sole production credit until The Ladykillers (2004). From then on, they would be credited as directors and producers and shared editing credits under the alias Roderick Jaynes. The duo started directing separately in the 2020s, resulting in Joel's The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), Ethan's Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind (2022) and Drive-Away Dolls (2024). Together, they have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards and one individual nomination. They share Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men. They won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.
The Coens have written films for other directors, including Sam Raimi's Crimewave (1985), Angelina Jolie's World War II biopic Unbroken (2014) and Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies (2015). They produced Terry Zwigoff's Bad Santa (2003) and John Turturro's Romance and Cigarettes (2005). Ethan is also a writer of short stories, theatre and poetry.
They are known for their distinctive stylistic trademarks, including genre hybridity. No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man and Inside Llewyn Davis was included in the BBC's 2016 poll of the greatest motion pictures since 2000. In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Fargo among the 100 greatest American movies. Richard Corliss wrote of the Coens: "Dexterously flipping and reheating old movie genres like so many pancakes, they serve them fresh, not with syrup but with a coating of comic arsenic."Coen brothers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.