Zach Braff, best known as JD in Scrubs, is taking questions from Guardian readers for a new webchat. The actor, writer and director is inviting fans to submit queries by 6pm on Monday 5 October, with the best answers to be published as part of the reader interview series.
From Scrubs to Garden State
Braff first gained fame as the star of the medical comedy Scrubs, but he has since built a second career as a filmmaker. His 2004 directorial debut Garden State, which he also wrote and starred in, was made for just $2.5m and went on to earn more than $35m worldwide. The film received over three dozen award nominations and earned Braff a Grammy for compiling its soundtrack, which featured the Shins, Coldplay and Nick Drake.
As a film actor, Braff has appeared in a range of productions, including 2000's The Broken Hearts Club, 2006's The Last Kiss and The Ex, and 2016's In Dubious Battle, directed by James Franco.
A Decade of Changes
Braff last faced Guardian readers in a 2014 webchat, during which he revealed he had never seen an episode of Family Guy, had tried unsuccessfully to steal Rowdy the stuffed dog from the Scrubs set, and had given serious thought to whether ghosts have genitals. Since then, he has directed Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin in the 2017 heist comedy Going in Style, wrote and directed the 2023 drama A Good Person starring Florence Pugh and Freeman, and earned an Emmy nomination for directing an episode of Ted Lasso.
Scrubs itself returned earlier this year after a 16-year absence, with Braff back as JD alongside Turk, Elliot, Dr Cox and other familiar faces. In the revival, JD is now the senior doctor rather than the nervous newbie. The second season of the revival begins in the US on 30 September.
Upcoming Projects
Next for Braff is Clean Hands, a crime drama based on a true story, in which he plays a narcotics officer whose work life turns painfully personal when his teenage daughter becomes addicted to heroin. The film is in cinemas and on demand in the US on 16 October.
