A chat with ... actor Zach Braff

A chat with ... actor Zach Braff

"Whatever happened to Zach Braff?"

If you have to ask, you're not paying attention: Though Braff's latest film, a gut-twisting drama called The High Cost of Living, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival last month, it has also been racking up on-demand views. It tells the story of a troubled drug dealer (Braff) who befriends a pregnant woman (Isabelle Blais) he injured in a hit-and-run accident.

In June the actor/director/writer will debut the first play he wrote, All New People, at Second Stage Theatre. When he's not busy with that, you can keep up with him on Facebook or Twitter.

Last week I sat down with Braff to discuss his current projects:

First off, tell me about the play you wrote.

It's called All New People, and it got selected by Second Stage for their summer show, which is a real big honor for me. We're casting it right now.

So how long did it take you to write?

I don't write every day like a good writer should, but on and off for about five months for the first draft.

Does having written a screenplay make it easier to write a play?

Neither one is easy. ... I procrastinate so much and I get distracted by anything. I could stare at a smoke detector for an hour. (Laughs) So for me it's not easy at all.

And you're casting, which means you won't be in it.

No. Because it's not on film or in TV ... stuff I've directed where I can go and watch playback and judge my performance. I think in a play it's wise to just sit back and watch other actors and be able to shape it from the audience.

And you're not directing it, either.

No, but in theater the writer is very much involved. Again, in film or TV, there's lots of people around you: producers, your cinematographer, your assistant director. There's lots of people that you're sort of bouncing ideas off of. If I was the writer/director in a play, it would just be me alone at a desk.

I really wanted the benefit of someone I trust and respect to who's also an amazing theater director, and (we chose) Peter DuBois. He directed the play I did last summer, and we really clicked.

So what attracted you to The High Cost of Living?

I'm a person who likes these sort of movies ... sad but moving "art movies" that normally are at a festival and then they go to a small arthouse theater and disappear. But what's been amazing about this movie is it's been like the little movie that could. Now with what Tribeca's doing -- distributing it with video on demand and Amazon and iTunes -- it's the No. 1 independent movie streaming on Amazon, which is pretty amazing for a movie that's had zero advertising.

So I'm drawn to movies like this. And I think in this new model, more and more audiences will get to see them, because people who live in places that don't have an Angelica or Film Forum can (now) go see movies that are more challenging and darker and aren't down-the-middle Hollywood studio movies.

Your character in High Cost of Living is kind of seedy. Were you nervous about playing a guy like that?

I wasn't nervous about playing a guy like that, I was nervous about having the audience empathize or relate to him in any way, or hopefully, at some point like him. Obviously, he's not necessarily that a great person, so when you're making it you're going, "I hope that people don't hate me the whole movie, because that's not going to work." So you have to find some way of having some redemptive qualities about him that people can see.

I think a lot of people are drawn to seeing people that want to be better. We see it in ourselves. And hopefully, we haven't had as horrific experiences as he has, but we can see aspects of ourselves.

Which character that you've played would you say is the most like you?

They're all a part of me. Scrubs' J.D. is very much me. I'm a very goofy, silly nerd. (Laughs) But I have a quiet side that's very much Garden State. I always say acting is like adjusting different levels on a mixing board, you know. So Scrubs is just cranking the goofy, silly side of myself, and (High Cost of Living) is pulling all of that down and cranking the pensive, lonesome aspects of my personality.

What do you miss about Scrubs?

It was the best job in the world, because you essentially went to work every day and laughed and acted like a goofball with all of your friends. A job doesn't get better than that. So if there's one thing I miss, it's hanging out with all those people and cracking up all day long. Just being silly. I'm still very close with a lot of them, and I miss hanging out with them every day.

What are you listening to right now?

I've been listening to Mumford & Sons. Vetiver. The new Strokes ... I've been listening to this girl Allie Moss who isn't even signed yet. I put her on my Facebook, I made a video of her and I said, "If I had a record label, this is who I'd sign." She's a backup singer for Ingrid Michaelson and we were all hanging out one day, and she said, "Do you wanna hear one of my songs?" She played a song and I was so blown away by it. So I have her EP and I've been listening to her a lot.

Do you go out to a lot of shows?

Not much. I don't like crowds. I'm going to Bonnaroo, though. They're doing a film aspect this year, and they're showing Garden State, and I'm doing a Q&A Saturday. So come.

But you're not gonna camp.

No, no. (Laughs) I would, but I'm gonna be busy with the play, so I'm zipping down there for one day to participate 'cause it sounds cool.

What's the last great movie you saw?

That's a great question. I just saw the documentary Donor Unknown. It's a really well-made documentary that's at the (Tribeca Film) festival about a girl who was the baby of a sperm donor and tracks down the other children that were made from the sperm donor and there's like 50.

Oh, my gosh!

She finds, like, 12 of them. And then she finds the father and they all reunite, and he's a really eccentric guy who lives out of his van in Venice. It's an amazing documentary.

You're a pretty good tweeter, and you used to be a champion blogger. Are you contemplating a return to blogging?

No, blogging I did before it got super well-read. I would just sort of write everything that came to my mind. And then it started getting me in trouble -- like, as it became bigger and bigger and more and more people read it, I started censoring myself, because once your audience gets big enough, you have to choose your words more carefully.

And it wasn't as fun as just writing stream of consciousness. ... So Facebook and Twitter I'm active on now. I used to make fun of (Twitter), but it really is the greatest tool when you're a one-man promotional machine for small projects. It's like a band having a mailing list in the olden days.

The High Cost of Living is now available to rent via Amazon, iTunes and many cable services.

Chloë Sevigny Summer Glau Kristin Kreuk Thalía Jodi Lyn OKeefe