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Zach Abrams Biography & Facts

Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed John Michael "J.D." Dorian 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. In 2014, Braff directed his second film, Wish I Was Here, 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. The play 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 Zachary Israel Braff was born on April 6, 1975 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 [Jewish] upbringing." 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 100th 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 starred in Garden State, also directing and producing it. The film 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. The $2 million 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 and Scrubs soundtracks, 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 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 wrote, directed, and produced the drama film A Good Person starring Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh, it was released on March 24, 2023. In development Braff was 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 film was eventually 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 would direct and star in the film alongside Cameron Diaz. As of 2021, no further public announcement.... Discover the Zach Abrams popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Zach Abrams books.