Joel Coen

Producer
Writer
Director

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)

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.

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IMDbProStarmeter Top 5,00093

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Won 4 Oscars
- 144 wins & 322 nominations total

Photos123

Joel Coen and Bruce Davison in Spies Like Us (1985)

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

7.3

Producer

2018

The Tragedy of Macbeth

7.1

Producer(produced by)

2021

Inside Llewyn Davis

7.4

Producer

2013

A Serious Man

7.0

Producer

2009

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

Fargo
- executive producer
- TV Series
- 2014–2020
The Tragedy of Macbeth
- producer (produced by)
- 2021
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
- producer
- 2018
Hail, Caesar!
- producer (produced by)
- 2016
Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis
- producer
- TV Movie
- 2013
Inside Llewyn Davis
- producer
- 2013
True Grit
- producer
- 2010
A Serious Man
- producer
- 2009
Burn After Reading
- producer
- 2008
No Country for Old Men
- producer
- 2007
Romance & Cigarettes
- executive producer
- 2005
The Ladykillers
- producer
- 2004
Bad Santa
- executive producer
- 2003
Intolerable Cruelty
- producer (uncredited)
- 2003
The Man Who Wasn't There
- producer (uncredited)
- 2001

Writer

The Tragedy of Macbeth
- written for the screen by
- 2021
Pandemic Players
- writer
- TV Series
- 2020
The Jesus Rolls
- characters (uncredited)
- 2019
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
- written by
- 2018
Suburbicon
- written by
- 2017
Hail, Caesar!
- written by
- 2016
Bridge of Spies
- written by
- 2015
Unbroken
- screenplay
- 2014
Inside Llewyn Davis
- written by
- 2013
Gambit
- screenplay
- 2012
Intolerable Cruelty: Scene Study
- screenplay
- Video
- 2011
True Grit
- screenplay
- 2010
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
- based on his screenplay for "Blood Simple"
- 2009
A Serious Man
- written by
- 2009
Burn After Reading
- written by
- 2008

Director

The Tragedy of Macbeth
- Director (directed by)
- 2021
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
- Director
- 2018
Hail, Caesar!
- Director (directed by)
- 2016
Inside Llewyn Davis
- Director
- 2013
True Grit
- Director
- 2010
A Serious Man
- Director
- 2009
Burn After Reading
- Director
- 2008
World Cinema
- Director
- Short
- 2007
To Each His Own Cinema
- Director (segment World Cinema)
- 2007
No Country for Old Men
- Director
- 2007
Paris, je t'aime
- Director (segment Tuileries)
- 2006
The Ladykillers
- Director
- 2004
Parisienne People by Joel & Ethan Coen
- Director
- Video
- 2003
Intolerable Cruelty
- Director (directed by)
- 2003
The Man Who Wasn't There
- Director
- 2001

In-development projects at IMDbPro

Star Siblings

Take a look at some of our favorite celebrity siblings, including Kate and Rooney Mara, and Halle and Chloe Bailey.

See the gallery

Photos

Videos8

Clip 4:04

5 Forgotten Gems From 1990

Clip 3:23

'Buster Scruggs': The Coen Bros.' Misunderstood, Misanthropic Masterwork

Clip 1:56

A Guide to the Films of the Coen Brothers

Clip 0:44

"Living Arrangements" from A Serious Man

Clip 0:58

"I Tried to Be a Serious Man" from A Serious Man

Trailer 1:41

A Serious Man -- Trailer #1

Personal details

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Alternative names
- Reginald Jaynes
Height
- 6′ (1.83 m)
Born
- November 29, 1954
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Spouse
- Frances McDormandApril 1, 1984 - present (1 child)
Children
Parents
Relatives
Other works
TV commercial: Directed a commercial for H & R Block tax service.
Publicity listings

Did you know

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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.