Zach Braff

Zachary Israel Braff'Scrubs' Star Zach Braff Wows U. of Florida Fans
(born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed J.D. on the NBC/ABC television series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2010), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005 as well as for three Golden Globe Awards from 2005 to 2007. He starred in '' The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy'' (2000), '' The Last Kiss'' (2006), '' The Ex'' (2006), and ''In Dubious Battle'' (2016). He has done voice-work for ''Chicken Little'' (2005), ''Oz the Great and Powerful'' (2013), and the Netflix series ''BoJack Horseman'' (2017, 2020).

In 2004, Braff made his directorial debut with '' Garden State'' in which he also starred. Additionally, he wrote the screenplay and compiled the soundtrack album. He shot the film in his home state of New Jersey with a budget of $2.5 million. The film made over $35 million at the box office and was praised by critics, leading it to gain a cult following. He won numerous awards for his directing work and also won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album in 2005. Braff directed his second film, ''Wish I Was Here'' (2014), which he partially funded with a Kickstarter campaign.

Braff has appeared on stage, in the dark comedy ''All New People'', in which he starred, and also wrote. It premiered in New York City in 2011 before playing in London's West End. He also played the lead role in a musical adaptation of Woody Allen's ''Bullets Over Broadway'' in 2014.

Early life, family and education

Braff was born in South Orange, New Jersey, and grew up there and in neighboring Maplewood. His father, Harold Irwin "Hal" Braff (1934–2018), was a trial attorney, professor and alumnus at Rutgers Law School, a founder of the state's American Inns of Court (AIC) and an elected trustee of the National Inns of Court Foundation. His mother, Anne Brodzinsky (born Anne Hutchinson Maynard), worked as a clinical psychologist. His parents divorced and remarried others during Braff's childhood. Braff's father was born into a Jewish family and Braff's mother, originally a Protestant, converted to Judaism before marrying his father. Braff said that he had a "very strong conservative/orthodox ewishupbringing." He had his bar mitzvah service at Oheb Shalom Congregation. In 2005, he said that he was "not a huge organized religion guy," and in 2013, he said that "the religion (Judaism) doesn't necessarily work for me," although he identifies as Jewish. His older brother is author Joshua Braff. His other brother, Adam Braff, is a writer and producer. His stepsister, Jessica Kirson, is a stand-up comedian.

Braff wanted to be a filmmaker since his early childhood; he has described it as his "life dream." Braff was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder at age ten. During his childhood, Braff was a friend of future Fugees member Lauryn Hill at Columbia High School in Maplewood.

Braff attended Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts "training center" for youth actors ages 10 to 18. Stagedoor was where Braff met and befriended actor Josh Charles. Braff also knows Stagedoor alums Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, and Joshua Radin well. Braff studied film studies at Northwestern University's School of Communication and became a brother of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity; he graduated in the class of 1997.

Career

Early work and breakthrough

One of Braff's earliest roles was in ''High'', a proposed 1989 CBS television series with a cast that also included Gwyneth Paltrow and Craig Ferguson; the television pilot never made it on air. Braff appeared in the 1990s series ''The Baby-sitters Club'', in the episode "Dawn Saves the Trees." He appeared in Woody Allen's 1993 film ''Manhattan Murder Mystery''. In 1998, Braff had a part in a George C. Wolfe production of ''Macbeth'' for New York City's Public Theater.

Braff played "J.D." (short for the character's full name, John Dorian) on the medical comedy television series '' Scrubs'' which debuted in 2001. The role was Braff's first major role in a television show. Braff was nominated for three Golden Globes and an Emmy for his work on the show. Braff directed several episodes of ''Scrubs'', including the one-hundredth episode, " My Way Home." For the show's ninth season Braff was a cast member for six episodes and also served as one of the executive producers.

Filmmaking

Braff directed several episodes of ''Scrubs''. Braff starred in '' Garden State'', also directing and producing it. The movie was filmed in his home state of New Jersey. Producers were initially reluctant to finance the film; Braff wrote it in six months. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, his "mixtape" won a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for the ''Garden State'' soundtrack.

On April 24, 2013, Braff started a Kickstarter campaign to finance the film ''Wish I Was Here'', based on a script he wrote with his brother, Adam Braff. The $2,000,000 goal was reached in three days. He directed and starred in the film which was released in 2014.

Braff was the executive producer of the documentary ''Video Games: The Movie''. He was also one of the Executive Producers of '' The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz'', released in 2014. He has directed several music videos: Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot," Joshua Radin's "Closer", Radin's "I'd Rather Be With You," and Lazlo Bane's "Superman" which is the theme song from ''Scrubs''. His music production led to newfound success for some of the artists featured on his film soundtracks including The Shins, who were prominently featured on the ''Garden State'' soundtrack and the ''Scrubs'' soundtrack, resulting in the expression "the Zach Braff effect."

In 2020, Braff directed the short film ''In The Time It Takes To Get There'', starring Alicia Silverstone and Florence Pugh. The film was based on a poster created by Sam West, the winner of an Adobe movie poster contest in 2018. In 2021, Braff was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for directing the Apple TV+ comedy show ''Ted Lasso''. He also received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the ''Ted Lasso'' episode "Biscuits".

Braff is currently writing directing, and producing the drama film '' A Good Person'' starring Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh, it is set to be released on March 24, 2023.

Other roles

Along with other ''Scrubs'' cast members, Braff has a cameo role in ''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie''.

He also voiced the titular character in the Disney animated film ''Chicken Little'' (2005), and has reprised the role in various Disney video games such as ''Chicken Little'', '' Kingdom Hearts II'', '' Chicken Little: Ace in Action'' and ''Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX''. Braff has also done voiceovers for commercials, including a PUR water campaign, Wendy's in 2007 and 2008, and in Cottonelle as the voice of the puppy. He also provided the voice of Finley in the Disney film ''Oz The Great and Powerful'' (2013). In 2005, Braff was featured on ''Punk'd'' when he was tricked into chasing and then beating a supposed vandal who appeared to be spray-painting his brand new Porsche.

Braff was in talks to star in the film '' Fletch Won'' and had signed on to play the role eventually played by Dane Cook in '' Mr. Brooks'', but dropped out of both roles to work on ''Open Hearts'', which he adapted from a Danish film and will direct. He has also co-written a film version of ''Andrew Henry's Meadow'', a children's book, with his brother, and was scheduled to direct one of the segments for the film New York, I Love You.

In July 2009, he signed on as an executive producer of the documentary '' Heart of Stone'' to "help spread the word about it."

Braff starred in the romantic drama '' The Last Kiss'', which opened on September 15, 2006. Braff tweaked several parts of Paul Haggis' script for the film, as he wanted the script to be as "real as possible" and "really courageous" regarding its subject matter. As with ''Garden State'', Braff was involved with the film's soundtrack, serving as executive producer. The film's director, Tony Goldwyn, compared Braff to a younger version of Tim Allen, describing Braff as "incredibly accessible to an audience... a real guy, an everyman."

In 2007, Braff starred in the film '' The Ex'' (2007). He also starred in the Canadian indie film ''The High Cost of Living'' with Québécois actress Isabelle Blais in 2010. Directed by Deborah Chow, the film was shot in Montreal and principal photography wrapped on March 9, 2010. Braff stated he enjoyed filming in the country in which ''The Last Kiss'' was also shot. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was also shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Braff played the lead role of Alex in '' Alex, Inc.'', a television comedy based on a family man who quit his radio career to launch a podcasting company. ABC cancelled the show after one season.

Theater

Braff returned to the Public Theater in 2002, in a part in ''Twelfth Night'', staged in Central Park. In mid-2010, Braff took a lead role in ''Trust'', at the Second Stage Theatre, a contemporary Off-Broadway theater company. The play ran from July 23 to September 12, extending its scheduled run by one week. Braff wrote on Facebook that he was "Having so much fun doing ''Trust''." The play co-starred Sutton Foster, Ari Graynor, and Bobby Cannavale, was written by Paul Weitz and directed by Peter DuBois. Braff played Henry, a wealthy married man who "looks to find something real in the most unlikely of places."

In early 2011, Braff announced that he had written a play to be performed at the Second Stage Theatre in mid-2011. His play, ''All New People'', is set on Long Beach Island and centers on Charlie, a 35-year-old from Braff's home state New Jersey. The play was directed by Peter DuBois, who directed Braff in ''Trust'' the previous year. When announcing the play on Facebook, Braff wrote that 'one of my dreams comes true'. In 2012, Braff moved the play on tour to the UK, playing in Manchester at the Manchester Opera House between February 8–11, Glasgow at the King's Theatre between February 14–18, and finally in London for 10 weeks at the Duke of York's Theatre from February 22.

On April 10, 2014, Braff opened on Broadway in the musical '' Bullets Over Broadway The Musical'', an adaptation of Woody Allen's 1994 film, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.

In development

Braff is expected to direct ''Open Hearts'', a remake of the 2002 Danish film '' Elsker dig for evigt'' (''Love You Forever''). The film is about a woman who has an affair with her paralyzed husband's doctor, whose wife caused the accident that put her husband in a wheelchair. It was first revealed that Braff was directing ''Open Hearts'' in 2006, however, the movie was canceled. Braff said "It fell apart at the last second due to scheduling and budget, as so many movies do." At the same time, Braff's film '' The Last Kiss'' was being released.

In 2009, Braff was working on the script for ''Swingles'', a film based on a spec script by Duncan Birmingham; he will direct and star in alongside Cameron Diaz. As of 2021, no further public announcements about the film's development status has been released.

Other pursuits

In 2009, Braff opened up the restaurant Mermaid Oyster Bar in New York City with chef and high school friend Laurence Edelman, as well as Danny Abrams.

Proprietors of the Rio Theater in Monte Rio, California credited Braff with making the donation that put their Kickstarter campaign over the target to buy a digital projector over its $60,000 goal in May 2013.

In March 2020, Braff and ''Scrubs'' co-star Donald Faison launched a ''Scrubs'' rewatch podcast titled ''Fake Doctors, Real Friends''. Distributed by iHeartRadio, the duo also shares stories and experiences of their time on set. Guests on the podcast include their co-stars Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, Christa Miller, and Ken Jenkins as well as the show's creator, Bill Lawrence and director Michael Spiller, from 2004-2006. He has also had relationships with model Taylor Bagley from 2009 to 2014, and British actress Florence Pugh, in 2019. He directed her in his 2019 short film ''In the Time it Takes to Get There''. The couple broke up in 2022.

In November 2008, Braff earned his pilot's license flying a Cirrus SR20.

Political views

Braff in 2012 endorsed the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama. Braff was an outspoken critic of former US President Donald Trump.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Production work

Discography

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Braff, Zach
1975 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American people of English descent
Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni
Film directors from New Jersey
Film producers from New Jersey
Grammy Award winners
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish American male actors
Jewish American writers
Male actors from New Jersey
New Jersey Democrats
Northwestern University School of Communication alumni
People from Maplewood, New Jersey
People from South Orange, New Jersey
People with obsessive–compulsive disorder
Screenwriters from New Jersey
21st-century American Jews