Etan Cohen () is an Israeli-American filmmaker who has written scripts for Hollywood movies, including Idiocracy (2006), Tropic Thunder (2008), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), Men in Black 3 (2012), The Bad Guys (2022) and its sequel (2025).
Early life and education Born in Safed, Israel, to a Jewish family, Cohen grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts, US. He graduated from the Maimonides School and Harvard College, where he wrote for the Harvard Lampoon.
Career His first produced scripts, in 1995 and 1997, were for Beavis and Butthead, where he was credited as Etan Cohen. He has since written for other Mike Judge-directed projects, including King of the Hill from 2001 to 2005, and for the feature film Idiocracy in 2006. In the late 1990s he worked on two other television series – the animated Recess and the shortlived It's Like, You Know.... In 2007, he wrote the short film My Wife is Retarded. After scripting Idiocracy, he worked on the animated series, American Dad! 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 and Justin Theroux, the action-comedy film Tropic Thunder. He also co-wrote, along with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which earned an Annie Award nomination for best Writing in a Feature Production.
Cohen penned the script for 2012's Men in Black 3. 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 was a critical and commercial flop and later earned him a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.
Personal life Cohen is an observant Jew. He keeps kosher and does not work on the Jewish Sabbath. He and his wife send their children to a Jewish day school.
Filmography Films Year Title Director Writer Notes 2006 Idiocracy Co-wrote with Mike Judge 2008 Tropic Thunder Co-wrote with Justin Theroux and Ben Stiller Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Co-wrote with Eric Darnell and Tom McGrathNominated – Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production 2012 Men in Black 3 2015 Get Hard Directorial debutCo-wrote with Jay Martel and Ian Roberts 2018 Holmes & Watson Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director 2022 The Bad Guys Additional screenplay material by Yoni Brenner and Hilary WinstonAlso executive producer with Aaron Blabey and Patrick Hughes Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Additional screenplay material 2024 Brothers 2025 The Bad Guys 2 Co-wrote with Yoni Brenner
Television Year Title Notes 1995–1997 Beavis and Butt-head 1999 It's Like, You Know Recess Timon & Pumbaa 2001–2005 King of the Hill Annie Award for Best Writing in an Animated Television Production 2006 American Dad!
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2005 Annie AwardWriting in an Animated Television ProductionKing of the Hill 2007 US Comedy Arts Festival Comedy Festival Award for Best Short Film My Wife Is Retarded 2009Annie AwardBest Writing in an Animated Feature ProductionMadagascar 2 2019 39th Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Director Holmes & Watson
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