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Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an Independent Spirit Award-winning American television and film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. During the 2000s, he became known for his role as John "J.D." Dorian on the NBC sitcom Scrubs which earned him his first Emmy nomination. Braff also wrote and directed 2004's Garden State. The soundtrack record, which he selected and produced, earned him a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album in 2005. Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated sitcom star and indie actor-writer-director Zach Braff first gained fame from his small-screen breakout role as J.D. on NBC’s “Scrubs” (2001- ) before coming out of nowhere to win critical acclaim for his big-screen directorial debut on “Garden State” (2004). In addition to writing, directing and acting in his own film, Braff moved on to leading roles on “The Last Kiss” (2006) and “The Ex” (2007). Adept at being both in front of and behind the camera, Braff’s comedy chops and everyman quality was often likened to an “Annie Hall”-era Woody Allen or a young Tom Hanks. Braff was born in West Orange, New Jersey, to a Jewish family. His parents, Hal Braff, a trial attorney and sociology professor, and Anne Brodzinsky, a clinical psychologist, divorced and re-married others during Braff's childhood. One of his siblings, Joshua, is an author. Braff has wanted to be a filmmaker since his early childhood and has described it as his "life dream." Braff was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder at age 10. As a teen, Braff attended Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in upstate New York. He graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, where he worked in the school's television station. Braff graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in film where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.Braff began his career in stage productions of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Macbeth at New York City's Public Theater, and also appeared in Woody Allen's 1993 film Manhattan Murder Mystery. Braff was briefly on the Disney program The Baby-sitters Club in an episode entitled "Dawn Saves the Trees." Braff has played the role of protagonist John "J.D." Dorian on the sitcom Scrubs since the show's debut in 2001. Braff has been nominated for three Golden Globes and an Emmy for his role as the offbeat doctor. In addition to directing several episodes of Scrubs, Braff wrote, directed, and starred in 2004's Garden State, which was filmed in his home state of New Jersey, in various towns such as South Orange, Maplewood and Tenafly. Producers were initially reluctant to finance the film, which Braff wrote in six months. After its success, he was sent a large number of scripts that he rejected because they were the kinds of films that he "would never go see or have any interest in being in." In February 2005, he won a Grammy Award for "Best Compilation Soundtrack For A Motion Picture" for the Garden State soundtrack, on which he also served as the compilation producer. He has also done voice-acting, having voiced the title character for the Disney animated film Chicken Little (2005) and the video game Kingdom Hearts II. In 2005, Braff was featured on Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd when he was tricked into chasing a supposed vandal who appeared to be spray-painting his brand new Porsche. He then proceeded to hurl expletives at the young boy until Ashton Kutcher showed up. The episode aired March 20, 2005. Braff has also made a couple of guest appearances on the show Arrested Development as Phillip Litt, a filmmaker in the vein of Girls Gone Wild who produces a film series called "Girls with Low Self Esteem". Braff has directed several music videos: Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot", Joshua Radin's "Closer", Cary Brothers' "Ride",and Lazlo Bane's "Superman", the theme song from Scrubs. Despite winning a Grammy Award, choosing music for Scrubs, and directing three music videos, Braff has said that he "knows nothing about music." In March 2007, Braff signed a one-year deal with NBC for a the seventh season of Scrubs. He will reportedly earn $350,000 per episode, making him one of the most highly paid actors on television, alongside House's Hugh Laurie and Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen. However, Braff claims that these reports "have not been very accurate.". Braff starred in the romantic drama The Last Kiss, which opened on September 15, 2006. Braff, who tweaked several parts of Paul Haggis' script for the film, noted that he could relate to his character, and wanted the script to be as "real as possible" and "really courageous" regarding its subject matter. 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." As with Garden State, Braff was involved with the film's soundtrack; he served as executive producer and selected lesser known artists such as Imogen Heap, Joshua Radin, Schuyler Fisk, and Rachael Yamagata, as well as Remy Zero, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Turin Brakes and Aimee Mann, to appear on the track. The Last Kiss grossed approximately $11 million at the North American box office, and was considered a commercial disappointment; However, worldwide box office receipts and DVD rentals added $35 million to the take, bringing in nearly twice the production cost of $20 million for the film. In 2007, Braff starred in the film The Ex, which he has described as a "silly comedy," and which was released on May 11, 2007 and also starred Amanda Peet, Charles Grodin and Jason Bateman. Braff said on his blog that the movie didn't do as well as he expected. On May 19, 2007, he hosted the 32nd season finale of Saturday Night Live, where in one sketch, he plays a high schooler who tries to explain to the two snobby heads of the prom committee (Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph) how Garden State is an important film to his peers. 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 will direct and adapt based on a Danish film. He has also co-written a film version of Andrew Henry's Meadow, a children's book, with his brother, and is scheduled to direct one of the segments for the film New York, Je T'Aime. Attended the same high school as R&B singer and hip-hop MC Lauryn Hill. Member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at Northwestern. He has gained praise at film festivals for his directorial debut, Garden State (2004). Attended the same high school as Elisabeth Shue and Andrew Shue. In fact, he grew up around the corner from the Shue family. Brother, novelist Josh Braff, wrote "The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green." Father is an attorney, who also does stage work. Also attending Columbia High School at the same time was Ahmed Best, better known as the voice of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Jar Jar Binks. Is best friends in real life with "Scrubs" (2001) co-star Donald Faison, who plays Turk. The youngest of four children: Adam J. Braff, Joshua Braff (wife, Jill; children, Henry and Ella), and Shoshanna Braff. Middle brother, Joshua Braff, and oldest brother, Adam J. Braff have collaborated on screenplays for TV. Sister is a fashion designer. Parents are divorced, each is remarried, and all get along with one another. Zach's "four parents" are all at Thanksgiving dinner together every year, with the four children, and the grandchildren. Won a Grammy in February of 2005 for "Best Compilation Soundtrack For A Motion Picture" for Garden State (2004), on which he served as the compilation producer. According to an article in The Chicago Sun-Times, when Braff won his Best First Feature Independent Spirit Award for Garden State (2004), his father jumped up from a back table in the room and yelled, "That's my kid!". Attended the same high school as producer Joel Silver, Road House (1989), Die Hard (1988) and Lethal Weapon (1987) and drummer Max Weinberg E Street Band, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993). Auditioned for the role of Drue Valentine on "Dawson's Creek" (1998), which eventually went to Mark Matkevich. Per his request that she contribute a song to the soundtrack of Garden State (2004), his ex-girlfriend Bonnie Somerville recorded the song "Winding Road" for the film. Graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in film. Named among Fade In Magazine's "100 People in Hollywood You Need to Know" in 2005. Is a die-hard fan of the show "Lost" (2004). Mandy Moore accompanied him to the Golden Globes in 2006. His father is of Russian heritage. On "Scrubs" (2001), Braff's character is often called by various girl's names. Ironically, his first TV role was in an after school special called "CBS Schoolbreak Special" (1984) (Episode: My Summer as a Girl), in which he poses as a girl to get a summer job. Directed the music video "Chariot" for singer Gavin DeGraw. Zach Braff's real-life friend and "Scrubs" (2001) cast mate, Donald Faison, also made a cameo in the video. Ended relationship with Mandy Moore. His right leg is an eighth of an inch longer than his left, which led to a herniated disk in late 2006. Some of the events in Garden State (2004) (which Braff wrote and directed) are quirky, exaggerated derivatives of occurrences in his real life. The actor has cut a one-year deal with "Scrubs" (2001) producer ABC TV Studio that will pay him about $350,000 per episode for the 2007-08 season. His alma mater, Columbia High School, is in a town (Maplewood, NJ) adjacent to (and is a de facto rival of) Millburn, where Zach's Scrubs Co-star John C. McGinley grew up and attended high school. Actress Anne Hathaway also attended Millburn High. When he sent the script for Garden State (2004) to people, he would also send them a copy of the songs (which he handpicked), which would eventually be the soundtrack. This was in the order in which they appear. Close friend with "Scrubs" (2001) co-star Sarah Chalke. Went to Film School with Janae Bakken, they now work together on Scrubs. Braff dated Bonnie Somerville around the same time he worked on Garden State. He specifically requested a song from her for the film's soundtrack. Braff started dating pop singer and actress Mandy Moore in the summer of 2004. One of their first public sightings as a couple was when they arrived together at a fundraising event for the Democratic Party prior to the November 2004 election. In early 2006, unnamed sources told In Touch Weekly magazine that the couple were engaged. Braff called this a "total Internet rumor." Moore's representative denied the engagement. Mandy Moore's song "Looking Forward to Looking Back" is rumored to be about Braff. In response to tabloids now linking him to singer Jessica Simpson, he joked: "I wish I was leading a fraction of the life that the tabloids have me leading!" In June 2007, he began dating actress Shiri Appleby. Braff is friends with singer Lauryn Hill, who graduated from Columbia High School in 1993, the same year as Braff. Braff mentions being great childhood friends with Hill, who went to his Bar Mitzvah in 1988 (as he stated in the commentary of deleted scenes from the Garden State DVD, his Bar Mitzvah was Broadway musical-themed.) Braff is also a close friend of Scrubs co-star Donald Faison, having called Faison "one of my best friends in the world" on the special features of the Scrubs DVD. Braff has also done charitable work such as autism fund-raisers to help find a cure for the condition. He is also a Patron for the American Red Cross, along with other famous personalities as part of their Celebrity Cabinet. |
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