
Ethan Coen
Personal Info
Known for
Directing
Gender
Male
Birthday
1957-09-21 (67 years old)
Place of Birth
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Ethan Coen
Biography
Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957) is an American filmmaker, working with his brother, Joel 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 up fresh, not with syrup but with a coating of comic arsenic."
Description above from the Wikipedia article Coen brothers, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Acting
(2022)
Winona Ryder: The Ghosts She Called
as (uncredited)
(2017)
(2016)
(2016)
Shooting 'Blood Simple'
as Self
(2016)
(2015)
(2014)
Inside 'Inside Llewyn Davis'
as Self
(2012)
A Special Day
as Self
(2008)
Diary of a Country Sheriff
as Self
(2008)
(2008)
(2004)
(2003)
Minnesota Nice
as Self
(2002)
(2001)
Down from the Mountain
as Self
(2000)
(2000)
The Coen Brothers
as Self
(1998)
(1990)
Darkman
as Oldsmobile Passenger (uncredited)
(1989)
(1985)
Crimewave
as Reporter at execution (uncredited)
Crew
Scarface
Screenplay
Go Beavers
Writer, Director
A Fever in the Blood
Original Story
(2025)
Honey Don't!
Producer, Writer, Director
(2024)
Drive-Away Dolls
Writer, Director, Producer
(2022)
Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind
Director
(2019)
The Jesus Rolls
Characters
(2018)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Screenplay, Editor, Producer, Director
(2017)
Suburbicon
Writer
(2016)
Hail, Caesar!
Director, Writer, Editor, Producer
(2016)
The Way of Folk
Thanks
(2016)
Waffles and Bullet Holes: A Return to Sioux Falls
Executive Producer
(2015)
Bridge of Spies
Writer
(2014)
Unbroken
Screenplay
(2013)
Inside Llewyn Davis
Director, Producer, Editor, Writer
(2013)
(2013)
Strutter
Thanks
(2012)
Gambit
Writer
(2010)
True Grit
Director, Screenplay, Producer, Editor
(2009)
A Serious Man
Director, Editor, Producer, Writer
(2009)
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
Original Story
(2008)
Burn After Reading
Director, Producer, Editor, Screenplay
(2008)
Don't Mess with Texas
Writer
(2007)
No Country for Old Men
Producer, Director, Editor, Screenplay
(2007)
To Each His Own Cinema
Director, Writer
(2007)
World Cinema
Director
(2006)
Paris Je T'aime
Director, Writer
(2005)
Romance & Cigarettes
Executive Producer
(2004)
The Ladykillers
Director, Producer, Screenplay, Editor
(2003)
Intolerable Cruelty
Editor, Producer, Screenplay
(2003)
Where the Girls Are
Executive Producer
(2003)
Bad Santa
Executive Producer
(2001)
The Man Who Wasn't There
Screenplay, Editor, Producer
(2001)
Down from the Mountain
Producer
(2001)
The Grey Zone
Thanks
(2000)
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Editor, Screenplay, Producer
(1998)
The Big Lebowski
Editor, Producer, Writer
(1998)
Eight
Thanks
(1998)
The Naked Man
Writer
(1997)
Eye of God
Thanks
(1996)
Fargo
Screenplay, Producer, Editor
(1994)
The Hudsucker Proxy
Producer, Writer
(1991)
Barton Fink
Screenplay, Editor, Producer
(1990)
Miller's Crossing
Screenplay, Producer
(1987)
Raising Arizona
Screenplay, Producer
(1985)
Crimewave
Writer
(1984)
Blood Simple
Editor, Producer, Writer