Zach Braff

Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor, director and screenwriter. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2005. In 2004, Braff made his directorial debut with Garden State. He returned to his home state New Jersey to shoot the film, which was produced for $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. Braff wrote the film, starred in it, and compiled the soundtrack record. He won numerous awards for his directing work, and also won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album in 2005. In April 2013, Braff announced he was launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to shoot a new film, titled Wish I Was Here. Early life Braff was born in South Orange, New Jersey. His father, Harold Irwin "Hal" Braff, is a trial attorney and sociology professor, and his mother, Anne Brodzinsky (born Anne Hutchinson Maynard), worked as a clinical psychologist. His parents divorced and re-married others during Braff's childhood. One of his siblings, Joshua, is an author. Braff's father was born into a Jewish family, and Braff's mother, originally a Protestant, converted to Judaism before marrying his father. Braff has said that he had a "very strong Conservative/Orthodox upbringing" (he was Bar Mitzvah at Oheb Shalom Congregation). In 2005, he stated that he is "not a huge organized religion guy" and, in 2013, that "the religion doesn’t necessarily work for me". Through his mother's New England ancestors, Braff is a ninth cousin of politician Mitt Romney. Braff 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 ten. During his childhood, Braff was a friend of former Fugees member Lauryn Hill. As a child, Zach Braff also attended Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts "training center" for youth actors between the ages 10–18. He fondly remembers his time there, as it was where he won an acting award and had his first kiss. Stagedoor is also where Braff met actor Josh Charles, who is still a friend of his; he knows many other SDM alums, including Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, and Joshua Radin. Braff attended the Northwestern University School of Communication where he became a brother of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, and graduated in the class of 1997. Career 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 1990 The Baby-sitters Club, in an episode titled "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 John "J.D." Dorian on the medical comedy TV 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 its one-hundredth, "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. Personal life Braff's brother is author Joshua Braff; his stepsister is Jessica Kirson, a New York comedian. He was in a relationship with model Taylor Bagley from 2009 to 2014.