[media]

Rosie's People: TV Spotlight ZACH BRAFF
By ALLISON ADATO | ROSIE MAGAZINE
May, 2002

Zach Braff recently enjoyed one of those moments that lets an actor know he has arrived. Zach, the 27-year-old star of the sitcom Scrubs, was approached by an icon. "You entertain me," boomed Mr. T, "and I pity the fool who don't entertain Mr. T!" Accepting compliments from the erstwhile A-Team star in Hollywood is a long way away from growing up in New Jersey. "I was blessed with parents who said, 'Life is short, do what you love.'" That meant a film degree from Northwestern before heading to New York to perform Shakespeare at the Public Theater. But it's Scrubs that's making him a name. And even though he's not a doctor, he plays one on TV. "You start to think, 'He has what? We're going to start an IV, right?' You get a little cocky." For now, though, the only shots Zach, an enthusiastic photographer, is dispensing are the portraits he takes of his friends.

Q: How do you see Scrubs compared with other TV shows?

Zach: We aspire to be like MASH. MASH was able to do something really amazing, which was having you laughing one minute and then something really dramatic happens, and the audience doesn't feel alienated. Bill Lawrence, who created the show, is excellent at navigating that terrain. You take dramatic things, and you find comedy in them. MASH did, and that's what we're trying to do too.

Q: Where did you get your training?

Zach: I studied film-making at Northwestern. I acted as a kid, but I wanted a chance to study the technical aspects of film. I did take acting classes and did one play at school, but for the most part I directed short films.

Q: Did you have any medical training?

Zach: When I was young, I volunteered on the local rescue squad. I was 16-the youngest person on the totem pole-and this was a four-person ambulance crew. You're trained in basic life support, but it's mostly lugging gear and pushing wheelchairs. The one thing I really took from that is the adrenaline rush from being in emergency medicine. Having to think and problem-solve with an inordinate amount of adrenaline pumping through your body.

Q: Had you done any TV before?

Zach: I did one other pilot season, sort of half-assed, because the first time you come out for a pilot season, you're not prepared for what's about to happen. If you're willing to attempt it, you can go on four auditions a day. It's too much. What you learn is that you prioritize. Which of these four do I like? And that's the one I'm going to work on. My first year I stumbled through it, and it was so stressful. The second time, I was all set to do it the right way. And my first audition was Scrubs. I was so blessed that I didn't have to go on any more.

Q: Are there moments when you realize that your life has changed?

Zach: Yes, they keep coming, all the time. I was doing an interview, and three feet away was Martin Sheen doing an interview, and that person wanted to talk to me when she was done with Mr. Sheen. The other is doing talk shows. You're looking over [the schedule] going, 'I can't believe this is happening right now.'

Original Source: RosieMagazine.com. Reprinted without permission.