With his relatable charm, actor Emory Cohen first caught audience's attention with his performance as AJ in the atmospheric crime thriller "The Place Beyond the Pines" (2012). Born and raised in Manhattan, Cohen graduated from Elisabeth Irwin High School in 2008. That same year, he made his big screen debut in the independent drama "Afterschool" (2008), followed quickly by a turn in the horror film "The Hungry Ghosts" (2009). Cohen soon began exploring the alternative theater scene in New York and Philadelphia, especially after securing a full scholarship to study acting at The University of the Arts. He would eventually return to the screen, however, when he was cast alongside Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling in "The Place Beyond the Pines." Holding his own with such established stars, Cohen's performance impressed critics. Before long, the young actor was cast in the recurring role of Leo Houston on the musical series "Smash" (NBC, 2012-13). After a role in the Mark Wahlberg-led crime thriller "The Gambler" (2014), Cohen finally landed a role in a new kind of film for him, playing the lead in the romantic period drama "Brooklyn" (2015). Audiences were taken with Cohen's performance as a besotted Irish-American youth who falls for a soft-spoken Irish immigrant played by Saoirse Ronan.