Ethan Coen

Ethan Coen

Writing·Age 68 — born September 21, 1957·Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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.
32Credits2 TV · 30 films
1985–2025Years activefirst to latest
8.3 Highest ratedFargo
7.1 Average ratingacross 32 titles

Top TV shows 2best Ethan Coen shows

  1. 1Fargo posterFargoExecutive Producer · 51 eps · 20148.3
  2. 2HBO First Look posterHBO First Look1 ep · 19925.6

Top movies 30best Ethan Coen movies

  1. 1Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis' posterAnother Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of 'Inside Llewyn Davis'Producer · 20138.0
  2. 2No Country for Old Men posterNo Country for Old MenDirector · Writer · 20078.0
  3. 3Fargo posterFargoDirector · Writer · 19967.9
  4. 4The Big Lebowski posterThe Big LebowskiDirector · Writer · 19987.8
  5. 5The Man Who Wasn't There posterThe Man Who Wasn't ThereDirector · Writer · 20017.5
  6. 6Miller's Crossing posterMiller's CrossingScreenplay · Producer · 19907.5
  7. 7Down from the Mountain posterDown from the MountainExecutive Producer · 20017.5
  8. 8Barton Fink posterBarton FinkDirector · Screenplay · 19917.5
  9. 9Unbroken posterUnbrokenScreenplay · 20147.4
  10. 10True Grit posterTrue GritDirector · Screenplay · 20107.3
  11. 11O Brother, Where Art Thou? posterO Brother, Where Art Thou?Writer · Producer · 20007.3
  12. 12Blood Simple posterBlood SimpleWriter · Producer · 19857.3
  13. 13Bridge of Spies posterBridge of SpiesWriter · 20157.2
  14. 14The Shape of Water posterThe Shape of WaterThanks · 20177.2
  15. 15Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind posterJerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in MindDirector · 20227.2
  16. 16Inside Llewyn Davis posterInside Llewyn DavisDirector · Writer · 20137.2
  17. 17The Ballad of Buster Scruggs posterThe Ballad of Buster ScruggsDirector · Writer · 20187.1
  18. 18The Hudsucker Proxy posterThe Hudsucker ProxyDirector · Writer · 19947.1
  19. 19Raising Arizona posterRaising ArizonaScreenplay · Producer · 19877.1
  20. 20A Fever in the BloodOriginal Story · 20027.0
  21. 21Where the Girls Are posterWhere the Girls AreExecutive Producer · 20037.0
  22. 22Paris Je T'aime posterParis Je T'aimeDirector · Writer · 20066.8
  23. 23A Serious Man posterA Serious ManDirector · Writer · 20096.7
  24. 24Burn After Reading posterBurn After ReadingDirector · Writer · 20086.7
  25. 25The Grey Zone posterThe Grey ZoneThanks · 20016.6
  26. 26Bad Santa posterBad SantaExecutive Producer · 20036.6
  27. 27To Each His Own Cinema posterTo Each His Own CinemaDirector · Writer · 20076.5
  28. 28Eddington posterEddingtonThanks · 20256.4
  29. 29Darkman posterDarkmanOldsmobile Passenger (uncredited) · 19906.4
  30. 30The Ladykillers posterThe LadykillersDirector · Screenplay · 20046.1

Keep exploring