Etan Cohen ( he, איתן כהן; born March 14, 1974) is an Israeli-American screenwriter and film director who has written scripts for Hollywood movies, including ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a ...

'', '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'', ''

Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film se ...

'', and '' The Bad Guys''.

Early life and education

Born in Israel to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, Cohen grew up in the

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

Efrat Efrat ( he, אֶפְרָת), or previously officially Efrata ( he, אֶפְרָתָה), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, established in 1983 in the Judean Mountains. Efrat is located south of Jerusalem, between Bethlehem and Hebron, ...

and later in

Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by ...

. He graduated from the Maimonides School and

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

, where he wrote for the ''

Harvard Lampoon ''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Overview The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...

''.

Career

His first produced scripts, in 1995 and 1997, were for ''

Beavis and Butthead ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, an ...

'', where he was credited as Ethan Cohen. He has since written for other

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

-directed projects, including ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'' from 2001 to 2005, and for the feature film ''

Idiocracy ''Idiocracy'' is a 2006 American science fiction comedy film directed by Mike Judge and co-written by Judge and Etan Cohen. Starring Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, and Terry Crews, the film tells the story of Corporal Joe Bauers (W ...

'' in 2006. In the late 1990s he worked on two other television series – the animated '' Recess'' and the short lived '' It's Like, You Know...''. After scripting ''Idiocracy'', he worked on the animated series, ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'' and wrote the episode, " Failure Is Not a Factory-Installed Option". The ''American Dad!'' minor character of the same name is named for him. In 2008, Cohen co-wrote, along with

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...

and

Justin Theroux Justin Paul Theroux (; born August 10, 1971) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained recognition for his work with director David Lynch in the mystery film ''Mulholland Drive'' (2001) and the thriller film ''Inland Empire'' (2006). He also ...

, the action-comedy film ''

''. He also wrote '' Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'', which earned an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally de ...

nomination for best Writing in a Feature Production. Cohen penned the script for 2012's ''

''. In 2015, he made his directorial debut with '' Get Hard'', which he also co-wrote. Cohen wrote and directed the 2018 film '' Holmes & Watson''. The film earned him a

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director The Razzie Award for Worst Director is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst director of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film(s) for which they wer ...

Personal life

Cohen is an observant Jew. He keeps kosher and does not work on the Jewish Sabbath and he and his wife send their children to a Jewish day school.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/etan_cohen {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Etan American male screenwriters Comedy film directors Living people Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli Jews Jewish American screenwriters People from Jerusalem 1974 births DreamWorks Animation people Maimonides School alumni The Harvard Lampoon alumni Harvard College alumni People from Sharon, Massachusetts Film directors from Massachusetts Screenwriters from Massachusetts