Born and raised in New Jersey along with two older brothers and one older sister, Zach Braff attended Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. He graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in film. He recently completed his third season as Dr. John Dorain (JD) on the television comedy, Scrubs. He played roles in the feature films The Broken Hearts Club and Getting To Know You while writing his own screenplay, Garden State, which he also stars in and directs. Braff only took 25 days to shoot his film, but during several years of pre-work on it and what will probably be another year in post work including marketing, Braff has learned a lot about the profession he loves. He generously shares some of his insights in this interview.

Q. What’s your favorite film genre?

A. Character/dialogue movies. I like creating dialogue where like five people talk in a room, like Glengarry Glen Ross and Before Sunset.

Q. Was filmmaking always your choice as a profession?

A. I always wanted to be a filmmaker. I was fascinated by the behind-the-scenes stuff. As a kid I made gadgets and used to make videos of my brothers or friends. So at film school I did everything I could that was connected to filmmaking. I only took one acting class and did one play.

Q. What was the writing experience like?

A. I’m not that prolific of a writer to try to do a movie like this very often as it took a lot out of me. I have an idea of what I want to do next, but I can’t do this every year. I write very slowly.

Q. Writing is one thing but deciding to direct is another. Did you ever fear that decision would hinder a studio deal?

A. I knew I wanted to write and direct. The question was if I could also be the lead. When I showed the film to the producers, they had seen films I made in college and thought I could do it. So I thought it would be a shame to let my insecurity about it get in the way of a big shot.

Q. What one thing during directing did you discover that surprised you?

A. I was prepared, but you can’t understand the work until you do it. When you’re the lead in a movie you can go home and sleep, but when you’re the actor and the director, there is no down time.

Q. Did your story change any after you started filming?

A. I shot everything, but made a little change in the editing room. It was 2 ½ hours long so I had to decide what had to go, and that was challenging. But I shaped the story a little as I did that, and probably the biggest lesson I learned as a first-time filmmaker, was the pain of cutting things you really love. One of the tragedies was a scene with all of my family, which I really loved, including one line by my dad. So that was hard.

Q. Garden State has great actors. Were you at all intimidated to be directing Natalie Portman or Ian Holm?

A. Of course, particular Ian Holm. He’s a screen legend and a Knight, for God’s sake, so there were times in my mind I wondered if I would have the courage to give him a note. But he was so generous, so humble and so open, and he wanted me to give him direction.

Q. Your characters are quirky, but they fit. Since this was your first experience at writing, what was your inspiration for them?

A.  At their core they’re based on real stories or real people. Sometimes you hear, “If I recounted a story exactly as it was, no one would believe it,” and it’s true cause they were surreal, for instance when I had to tone something done from reality because people would not believe it. I try not to write a character for quirky sakes, just to make them extraordinarily real. Anytime someone did something really out there, they played it straight and they didn’t think they were odd.

O. The humor in those characters and your acting, is that intuitive in you?

A. Since I was a little kid I had no interest in organized sports. So in public school I had to find something to do, so I was always trying to make people laugh, sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully. I grew up trying to entertain people and make them laugh. My father and brothers are very funny, too.

O. Is your family in show business?

A. My brother Adam Braff is a screenwriter and writer on TV, and we’re working on an adaptation of Andrew Henry’s Meadow -- a children’s book for Fox. My brother Joshua Braff has his first novel coming out from Algonquin -- The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green -- he’s on book tour now.

Q. How hard was it to act and direct at the same time?

A. It’s tricky. You never direct from behind the camera when you’re in a scene. So I storyboard the whole thing and set up the shots with stand-ins so you can see it’s framed. Then you step in and do it, and it’s helpful because a lot of times the director just wishes he could get in the scene and steer it how he wants it. So I could do that, and you set the whole tone.

Q. Speaking of directors, what was it like to work with Woody Hall in Manhattan Murder Mystery?

A. I was very young, 18. It was incredibly surreal because I grew up on Annie Hall and Woody Allen movies, and having Woody Allen and Diane Keaton playing my parents was weird. It was fun to watch him in action and how he operates on set. It’s a chance you rarely get in a lifetime to see one of your heroes at work. I hope I get another shot at it, cause I’ve learned a lot as an actor since then, I was a little intimidated.

Q. What directors/filmmakers inspire you?

A. Woody Allen, Alexander Payne, Hal Ashby, Todd Haines

Q. And you’ve done Shakespeare on the stage. Why did that appeal to you?

A. I’ve only done three equity plays and they were all Shakespeare. I had this amazing professor in high school, like the Robin William’s character in Dead Poet’s Society, and he opened my eyes to Shakespeare. I fell in love with the writing. I had never seen as brilliant a playwright, or that you could pretend to be someone who was smart enough to think of this amazing poetry. I learned a lot from him. After graduating college the first part I got was in Macbeth in Public Theater in New York City directed by George Wolf, then I did Romeo and Juliet and then Twelfth Night in Central Park.

Q. I understand in the beginning you felt Garden State was targeted to a 20-something audience, but there’s a broader appeal, isn't there?

A. Of course. I said that before I went on tour, but I’ve learned that’s not true. I had a 78-year-old woman come up to me after a screening with tears in her eyes. People of all ages are responding to it. What I didn’t foresee is that the characters may be in their 20s, but what they’re going through are universal themes that people go through at different periods in their life. At its core the film is about waiting for a new chapter to begin, and everyone can relate to a time in their life when you’re way overdue for that next chapter to start in your life. You’re waiting for an epiphany. Also everyone can relate to loss, love, and all these themes that are in the movie. I’m so happy that I’m getting a response from all age groups. When I was writing, I never dreamed people would be this receptive to this movie. I really thought small. I was just going to be writing my first movie, I never thought this big.

Q. Is directing now more of a focus for you?

A. I want to do it all. Scrubs, act, direct, do other’s people’s movies.

Q. Did you shoot extra stuff for the DVD?

A. Yes, I had an extra 45 minutes of stuff. My family will most definitely be on there, and deleted scenes; and two commentary tracks with me, Natalie, Peter (Sarsgaard) and cinematographer (Lawrence Sher), production designer (Judy Becker), the editor (Myron Kerstein) and outtakes.

Q. DVD extras are an added bonus for a filmmaker.

A. Yes, I’m always bummed when it’s a movie I really like and the DVD extras aren’t that good. I always want more.

Q. How many seasons is Scrubs slated for?

A. I’m contracted for two more seasons, not sure what will happen after that.

One thing I’m sure of is that after Scrubs and Garden State, Zach Braff will still be making movies and making people laugh.