Bring it on!
Award-winning American actor and filmmaker Zach Braff tells Tahir Alhamzah he likes it all, from acting to directing to writing
AMERICAN actor Zach Braff admits that he likes to act, direct and write. The 43-year-old New Jerseyborn artiste, who is best known as Dr John “J.D.” Dorian on the popular TV series Scrubs, has also successfully ventured into film and theatre.
“I like to do all. After all, life is too short, right?” says Braff during a telephone conversation with Groove recently.
Despite beginning his career as a successful actor, Braff has since found recognition for writing, producing and directing a string of successful feature films, television series and stage productions.
During Scrubs’ nine-year run, he earned a Prime time Emmy and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations (2005-2007) for his starring role. Scrubs also received numerous Emmy nominations for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Writing.
In addition to directing seven episodes of Scrubs (including the show’s landmark 100th episode), Braff made his feature film debut as the director and writer of original comedy-drama Garden State, in which he also starred.
He shot the coming-ofage film in his home state with a budget of US$2.5 million (RM9.93 million), resulting in a US$5 million unprecedented sale to two studios, Fox Searchlight and Miramax, during its premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.
The film, which also stars Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and Ian Holm, went on to gross over US$35 million at the box office, and won praise from film critics, besides garnering more than three dozen award nominations.
Braff also won various awards which include a Grammy for the movie’s breakthrough soundtrack which sold more than one million copies.
He made his Broadway debut in 2014 as lead character David Shayne in Bullets Over Broadway, written by Woody Allen, directed by Susan Stroman and performed at New
York’s St. James Theatre. The musical stage production had been based on the screenplay of Allen’s 1994 comedic film.
Set in 1920s New York, Braff played a struggling playwright who is so desperate to get his latest drama produced that he casts a rich mobster’s talentless girlfriend in exchange for financing. Asked which of the roles he preferred, Braff initially replies: “It’s hard to say. I like to do all.”
After giving our question a second thought, he adds: “Although I started out by acting first, directing has to be my favourite. Writing is by far the hardest of all. But when you have completed the task, the feeling is fantastic.”
BEING ALEX
After succesfully playing J.D. on Scrubs, Braff hopes viewers will learn to love Alex Schuman, the character he plays on the new TV show, Alex, Inc. which premiered on Fox on May 13.
“In many ways, Alex is very much like J.D., a silly dreamer with a big heart. Maybe Alex is not as goofy, but he’s close,” says the actor who is waiting for news on whether there’ll be a second season for the show.
Based on Alex Blumberg’s successful podcast StartUp, the comedy series tells of the good, the bad and the ugly when a journalist and family man risks everything and quits his job to start his own company. He quickly discovers it’s a lot harder than he thought.
Alex is a successful radio producer with a whip-smart public defender wife, Meheroon a.k.a. Rooni (played by Tiya Sircar) and two confident, quirky children, Ben (Elisha Henig) and Soraya (Audyssie James).
After years of making the kind of content that brings no creative fulfilment, in what most would consider an early midlife crisis, Alex decides to risk everything — including his savings — to start his own business.
Armed only with the help of his overenthusiastic producer, Deirdre (Hillary Anne Matthews), and his fast-talking, unemployed second cousin Eddie (Michael Imperioli), he navigates the crazy world of starting an independent business while trying to keep his marriage and family a priority.
Matt Tarses, Braff, John Davis, John Fox, Alex Blumberg, Chris Giliberti and Matt Lieber are the show’s executive producers.