Directing

Joel Coen

Born November 29, 1954 · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (age 71)

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)…

Known For

No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men · 2007

No Country for Old Men

MovieCrimeThriller

Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski · 1998

The Big Lebowski

MovieComedyCrime

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.

The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water · 2017

The Shape of Water

MovieDramaFantasy

An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him escape.

Bridge of Spies

Bridge of Spies · 2015

Bridge of Spies

MovieThrillerDrama

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.

The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead · 1983

In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.

Fargo

MovieCrimeDrama

Jerry Lundegaard is a small-town Minnesota car salesman deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything to get out. Police chief Marge Gunderson discovers a string of violent crimes as Jerry's schemes spiral out of control.

Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis · 2013

Inside Llewyn Davis

MovieDramaMusic

In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future.

Eddington

Eddington · 2025

MovieWesternComedy

In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.

Filmography

Sort

No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men · 2007

No Country for Old Men

MovieCrimeThriller

Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.

Director

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski · 1998

The Big Lebowski

MovieComedyCrime

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.

Director

The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water · 2017

The Shape of Water

MovieDramaFantasy

An other-worldly story, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, where a mute janitor working at a lab falls in love with an amphibious man being held captive there and devises a plan to help him escape.

Thanks

Bridge of Spies

Bridge of Spies · 2015

Bridge of Spies

MovieThrillerDrama

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.

Writer

The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead · 1983

In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.

Assistant Editor

Fargo

MovieCrimeDrama

Jerry Lundegaard is a small-town Minnesota car salesman deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything to get out. Police chief Marge Gunderson discovers a string of violent crimes as Jerry's schemes spiral out of control.

Director

Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis · 2013

Inside Llewyn Davis

MovieDramaMusic

In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future.

Director

Eddington

Eddington · 2025

MovieWesternComedy

In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.

Thanks

True Grit

True Grit · 2010

MovieDramaAdventure

Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.

Director

Hail, Caesar!

Hail, Caesar! · 2016

MovieComedyMystery

When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.

Director

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou? · 2000

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

MovieAdventureComedy

In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

Director

Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading · 2008

Burn After Reading

MovieComedyDrama

When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst falls into the hands of gym employees, Linda and Chad, they see a chance to make enough money for Linda to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo, and those in their orbit.

Director

The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth · 2021

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

Producer

The Ladykillers

The Ladykillers · 2004

The Ladykillers

MovieComedyCrime

An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord – a sharp old woman.

Director

Miller's Crossing

Miller's Crossing · 1990

Miller's Crossing

MovieDramaThriller

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

Director

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs · 2018

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

MovieWesternComedy

Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.

Director

Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona · 1987

Raising Arizona

MovieComedyCrime

When a childless couple—an ex-con and an ex-cop—take one of a wealthy family’s quintuplets to raise as their own, their lives grow more complicated than anticipated.

Director

Bad Santa

Bad Santa · 2003

MovieDramaComedy

You'd better watch out - Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

Executive Producer

Unbroken

Unbroken · 2014

A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.

Screenplay

Blood Simple

Blood Simple · 1985

MovieCrimeDrama

The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.

Director

Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty · 2003

Intolerable Cruelty

MovieComedyRomance

A revenge-seeking gold digger marries a womanizing Beverly Hills lawyer with the intention of making a killing in the divorce.

Director

A Serious Man

A Serious Man · 2009

MovieComedyDrama

It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. He scrambles to find a semblance of meaning as he loses control of nearly every aspect of his life.

Director

The Hudsucker Proxy

The Hudsucker Proxy · 1994

The Hudsucker Proxy

MovieComedyDrama

A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.

Director

Paris Je T'aime

Paris Je T'aime · 2006

Paris Je T'aime

MovieDramaRomance

Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to choose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.

Director

Fargo

SeriesCrimeDrama

A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.

Executive Producer

HBO First Look

HBO First Look · 1992

SeriesDocumentary

HBO First Look is an American television show on HBO that chronicles up and coming movies. It first started in 1992 with a documentary on A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks, and still airs today. The series shows behind-the-scenes looks at the filming and interviews with the actors. The show is part documentary and part advertisement. It airs on HBO with no set schedule.