Zach Braff Trivia | 50 facts about the actor and filmmaker

Zach Braff is an American actor and filmmaker. In 2004 he made his directorial debut with Garden State in which he also starred.

Let’s find out more about him!

1. His full name is Zachary Israel Braff.
2. He was born on April 6th, 1975.
3. He’s an American actor and filmmaker.
4. He portrayed J.D. on the NBC/ABC television series Scrubs (2001–2010).
5. For this role 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.
6. He starred in The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), The Last Kiss (2006), The Ex (2006), and In Dubious Battle (2016).
7. He has done voice-work for Chicken Little (2005), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and the Netflix series BoJack Horseman (2017, 2020).
8. In 2004, Braff made his directorial debut with Garden State in which he also starred.
9. 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.
10. He won numerous awards for his directing work and also won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album in 2005.
11. Attended the same high school and graduated the same year (1993) as R&B singer and hip-hop MC Lauryn Hill.
12. Member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity at Northwestern.
13. He has gained praise at film festivals for his directorial debut, Garden State (2004).
14. Attended the same high school as Elisabeth Shue and Andrew Shue. In fact, he grew up around the corner from the Shue family.
15. Brother, novelist Josh Braff, wrote “The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green.”
16. Father is an attorney, who also does stage work.
17. 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)’s Jar Jar Binks.
18. Is best friends in real life with Scrubs (2001) co-star Donald Faison, who plays Turk.
19. The youngest of four children: Adam J. Braff, Joshua Braff (wife, Jill; children, Henry and Ella), and Shoshanna Braff.
20. Middle brother, Joshua Braff, and oldest brother, Adam J. Braff have collaborated on screenplays for TV. Sister works in fine dining in a major hotel.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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!”.
24. 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)).
25. Auditioned for the role of Drue Valentine on Dawson’s Creek (1998), which eventually went to Mark Matkevich.
26. 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.
27. Graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in film
28. Named among Fade In Magazine’s “100 People in Hollywood You Need to Know” in 2005.
29. Is a die-hard fan of the show Lost (2004).
30. Mandy Moore accompanied him to the Golden Globes in 2006.
31. Zach’s father, Harold Irwin “Hal” Braff, is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent (from a family from Austria and Russia). Zach’s mother, born Anne Hutchinson Maynard, is from a family of English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry (Anne converted to Judaism). Through his mother’s line, Zach is a ninth cousin of politician Mitt Romney. Zach and Mitt are both descendants of Francis Nurse (c. 1619-1695), and of his wife, Rebecca Nurse (1621-1692), a woman who was hanged in the Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials, after being falsely accused of practicing witchcraft.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. His right leg is an eighth of an inch longer than his left, which led to a herniated disk in late 2006.
35. Some of the events in Garden State (2004) (which Braff wrote and directed) are quirky, exaggerated derivatives of occurrences in his real life.
36. 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 2007-2008 season.
37. 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 (2001) co-star John C. McGinley grew up and attended high school. Actress Anne Hathaway also attended Millburn High.
38. When he sent the script for Garden State (2004) to people, he would also send them a copy of the songs (which he handpicked) that would eventually be the soundtrack. This was in the order in which they appeared.
39. Close friend with Scrubs (2001) co-star Sarah Chalke.
40. Went to film school with Janae Bakken; they now work together on Scrubs (2001).
41. Had a small uncredited cameo as a worker in the homeless shelter in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). That film was directed by Gabriele Muccino, who worked with Zach on The Last Kiss (2006).
42. Stepbrother of New York stand-up comedienne Jessica Kirson.
43. In 2012 he became the spokesman for Pur Water Filters.
44. Playing J.D. in NBC’s hit comedy show, Scrubs (2001). [April 2005]
45. Godfather of Donald Faison’s son Rocco.
46. Good friends with James Franco. James’ younger brother, Dave Franco, starred as one of the new interns in the final season of Braff’s show, Scrubs (2001).
47. Zach had his Bar Mitzvah ceremony in a Conservative synagogue.
48. Is frequently mistaken for Dax Shepard.
49. In a relationship with Florence Pugh since 2018.
50. Zach and Amanda Kloots became good friends, when he, Amanda, and her husband, Nick Cordero, appeared on Broadway in “Bullets Over Broadway”.