Zach Braff Interview

When did Zach Braff become a movie star? When Scrubs started, he was just that guy on that funny show a few people were watching. Then he made his own movie, Garden State and got some indie cred. But Scrubs still doesn’t break the top 20 and the success of Chicken Little was hardly attributed to Braff voicing the lead cartoon character.

It seems Zach Braff is more famous for his dating history. A serious relationship with Mandy Moore ended, rumors linked Braff with recent divorcee Jessica Simpson. Must be that New Jersey charm. It’s worked for everyone from Jon Bon Jovi to Kevin Smith.

Braff’s new movie, The Last Kiss, could be his boldest move yet. It casts him as a man contemplating adultery while his perfect girlfriend carries his baby. Never scared to break the safety zone of nice guy leading men, Braff sung the praises of his bold new film with a Sunday morning caffeine high keeping him running.

Q: Should we sympathize with this character?

Zach Braff: I think that we should relate to him as a human being. One of the reasons I wanted to do this movie was it was so refreshing, it was real. It was like a human being that fucks up, that makes mistakes, that does a dumb thing and don’t we all. Don’t we all have things that we wake up the next day and go, “Oh, I’m such an idiot?” There’ll be some people that’ll come out of the movie hating me and some people will come out the movie going, “God, I’ve been there, I can relate to what he went through.” And I think there’ll be people that will be shocked at how human the characters in this movie are.

Q: Do you believe in the philosophy do whatever it takes if someone really matters to you?

ZB: I think. I mean, at some point you’re going to get called a stalker and get a restraining order if it doesn’t go your way. But she loves him too. She’s as upset by this [as he is]. Who knows what’s going to happen with them? And I love that we don’t know. I think that there’s hope and there’s possibility but he needed to do this thing. If he didn’t do it now, he would have done it later. And I think that he may have sacrificed the greatest love of his life but it was sort of a piece of the puzzle that he needed to experience and grow through to become a full adult.

Q: Won’t some people root for him to hook up with the college babe?

ZB: Well, there’ll be people that’ll say that, sure. I think what’s great about it is it would have been so much easier to make her a dumb ditz. One of the things I loved about Paul Haggis’s screenplay was that he made the conscious choice to make her charming and likeable and adorable and sexy, and that makes it more challenging for him and the audience.

Q: You’re a director. How hard is it as an actor to take direction?

ZB: I know, that is tricky. Inherent in being a director is having strong opinions about things. That’s not to say they’re always right or even usually right, but you definitely have your strong opinion on things. So it was hard sometimes but I have to say Tony [Goldwyn] is just a dream because he’s so collaborative. He’s more collaborative than I am as a director. He really was genuinely interested in everyone’s opinions and then he would make his own and make the decision. But he was so wonderfully open to what I had to say and what my two cents was. When I had those moments like, “Why don’t you do it like this?” I could actually say, “My gut really thinks we should do it like this. What do you think on that?” He would go either, “Oh, that’s a good idea” because he really had no ego about it, or “I hear what you’re saying but this is why I want to do it this way.”

Q: What’s your reaction when an actor says he thinks we should do it this way?

ZB: I have to say, I was so blessed. It’s shocking. If you look at all the people I worked with in Garden State who have all done so many more movies than I did, they really all left everything in my hands. When you’re acting in a movie, you really have to plan a lot more out than when you’re not, so I storyboarded every frame of Garden State. I blocked everything out before actors even arrived just because I couldn’t leave all that up in the air. I needed some things to have control over. So if an actor had said, “I really hate this blocking…” I mean, if someone had a real problem with it, I would have worked it out but so much had already been determined by where I put everybody in the shots.

Q: You’re this guy’s age, and you’re with fabulous women yet still single. How are you with commitment issues?

ZB: First of all, let me say that I wish I was leading a fraction of the life that the tabloids have me leading. So much of that is nonsense, but that having been said, I definitely want to get married one day and settle down and have kids and do the whole thing. But of course, we all go through some phase I think in our early 30s, men and women, where we wrestle with “She’s the one I think, but am I ready to be with the last girl I’m ever going to kiss?” My generation, there’s very few examples of marriages that have lasted. My parents are both on their second marriages and very, very happily remarried. It’s hard. I think we all want it. Like the last line of Annie Hall when he says we still need the eggs. I think we all want it still but we realize that it’s hard.

Q: So you want it, but is there a prospect?

ZB: I’m single right now. The answer to your question is no, there’s no current prospect.

Q: You have lots of psychologists in your family, right?

ZB: Right, my mother and stepfather are both PhD psychologists. My stepmother is a therapist and now my father who is a lawyer and my stepmother are doing marriage counseling together. And my stepsister is now going to go get her MSW.

Q: So how oppressive is that when they say, “It’s about time you settle down?”

ZB: They’re great though. I think that I get a lot of good advice. It sounds funnier than it is but in actuality, they all give me great advice and it is wonderful to be able to go to your family when you need advice on something or you’re upset about something and have them not only talk to you as people that love you but people that have actually studied it a little bit and have heard people’s problems all day long and have a reference point.

Q: Won’t JD be dealing with these issues on Scrubs?

ZB: Yeah, but in a broad comedy running into walls kind of way.

Q: Have you started season six?

ZB: Yeah, we did one episode. We just did the first one. It’s going to be crazy. We’re all sort of going at this like it’s probably the last, so last year we got a little wackier and more surreal and we call it stoner humor. We sort of leaned into the turn a little bit. And the fans love it. We had our best ratings ever. So now we’re like, “Oh, well if that’s what they want, we’ll really go for that.”

Q: Is that surprising considering last season you came on halfway?

ZB: The funniest thing was that we were our best lead in we’ve ever had. We were our own best lead in. So they’re doing that again. When a network finds something that works, they stick with it. So we’re actually going to be delayed again so we can build up enough episodes to be able to be our own lead in.

Q: Is Elizabeth Banks going to be a regular?

ZB: Elizabeth Banks is back as my love interest and she’s wonderful. I just find out as they come. We just did the first one and I know she’s back for at least five or six episodes this season.

Q: So when will it start airing?

ZB: I don’t know. I’ve heard everything from November to January but it will be far enough out of the original premiere dates so that we can build up enough to be our own lead in.

Q: Why the last season? Is there a sense of finality to the story?

ZB: I think Bill’s going to move on and I think I’m going to move on. I think we want to go out on top and not drag it into the ground.

Q: Will you be glad to say goodbye to it?

ZB: I’ll miss it. It’s my family. Bill gave me my big break but I’m going to obviously continue a working relationship with Bill because we’re a great time. We really work well together. So I want to keep doing many things with him. I will miss Scrubs. It’s a lot of fun and it’s been such a fun group of people to work with. But I think you’ve got to start a new chapter after six years. I don’t want to be Screech. Especially now. I don’t want to be selling T-shirts to save my house.

Q: Do you have time to take on any new film projects?

ZB: Until really April, I’m owned by Scrubs. I was there until 3:30 in the morning on Friday night/Saturday morning so yeah. They own me for seven months.

Q: Do you feel there are similarities between your Last Kiss character and Garden State?

ZB: Some people say that and I’m not sure I agree. I think the guy in Garden State was really, really, really lost and probably should be on some medication. I don’t think he needed to be on all that he was on but probably needed a little help and had a very F’ed up childhood. This is a guy who’s healthy and happy and has everything going for him and has his dream girl and loves his job and loves his friends, but he’s just terrified of this, like he says, the surprises stopping. There’s something about your ‘20s and your teens that are all about this new thing every year. There’s a new milestone and new experiences. He’s just terrified that wow, when I get married, do those surprises stop? Everything seems like now there’s a whole plan of what’s going to happen and I’m afraid of that.

Q: What’s so great about surprises?

ZB: I don’t know. I think they keep life interesting. I think where he’s wrong is that there’s a whole new set of surprises when you’re married and you have kids. There’s many new exciting chapters that come at that point in your life. He just can’t see it right now.

Producer
2009	Scrubs
2009	Scrubs: Interns
2008	Night Life
Director
	Scrubs
2008	Night Life
2004	Garden State
1997	Lionel on a Sunday
Actor
2010	The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
2010	The High Cost of Living
2010	Scrubs
2009	Scrubs: Interns
2006	Fast Track
2006	The Pursuit of Happyness
2006	Chicken Little: Ace in Action
2006	The Last Kiss
2006	Arrested Development
2005	Kingdom Hearts II
2005	Chicken Little
2004	Garden State
2002	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
2002	Clone High
2000	The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
2000	Blue Moon
2000	Endsville
1999	Getting to Know You
1994	CBS Schoolbreak Special
1993	Manhattan Murder Mystery
1993	The Baby-Sitters Club