---
name: "Jay Cocks"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jay-cocks"
fi1m_id: "jay-cocks"
imdb_id: "nm0168379"
tmdb_id: 14393
wikidata_id: "Q1684311"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "12 January 1944"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-26T02:41:06.320922+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jay Cocks

## Identity

Jay Cocks

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jay-cocks
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jay-cocks
- **IMDb ID:** nm0168379
- **TMDB ID:** 14393
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1684311
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cocks, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1684311, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168379/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14393

Writer. Born 12 January 1944 in New York City.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 12 January 1944, New York City
- **Active:** 1993–present
- **Frequently works with:** [Daniel Day-Lewis](https://film.one/person/daniel-day-lewis.md), [Martin Scorsese](https://film.one/person/martin-scorsese.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 86 (1), 2000s 74 (1), 2020s 68 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 74 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Crime 1, History 1, Music 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $367m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cocks, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1684311, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168379/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14393

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Age of Innocence*](https://film.one/film/the-age-of-innocence.md) (86)
- **Apple TV:** [*Gangs of New York*](https://film.one/film/gangs-of-new-york.md) (74)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Jay Cocks is an American screenwriter and former film critic. Born in New York City on 12 January 1944, he graduated from Kenyon College and wrote criticism for Time, Newsweek and Rolling Stone before moving into screenwriting.

His credits include screenplays for Martin Scorsese films such as *The Age of Innocence* (1993) and *Gangs of New York* (2002), as well as *Strange Days* (1995), *Silence* (2016) and *A Complete Unknown* (2024). He received Academy Award nominations for *The Age of Innocence*, *Gangs of New York* and *A Complete Unknown*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, deadline.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *A Complete Unknown* (2024), Fi1m 68, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/a-complete-unknown.md)
- *Gangs of New York* (2002), Fi1m 74, Screenplay, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/gangs-of-new-york.md)
- *The Age of Innocence* (1993), Fi1m 86, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-age-of-innocence.md)

## Complete filmography (8)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *A Complete Unknown* (2024), Screenplay — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/a-complete-unknown.md)
- *Silence* (2016), Screenplay
- *De-Lovely* (2004), Writer
- *Gangs of New York* (2002), Screenplay, Story — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/gangs-of-new-york.md)
- *Strange Days* (1995), Screenplay
- *The Age of Innocence* (1993), Screenplay — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-age-of-innocence.md)
- *Made in Milan* (1990), Writer
- *The Last Temptation of Christ* (1988), as Additional Writing · Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- 2025: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *A Complete Unknown*
- 2003: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Gangs of New York*
- 1994: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *The Age of Innocence*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jay-cocks