Known mostly for his role as medical intern John "J.D." Dorian on NBC's sitcom Scrubs, Zach Braff has an enthusiasm for acting that can be traced back to his childhood in South Orange, NJ, where, at eight years old, he recalls watching his attorney father participate in a local theater group. Three years later, Braff could be found cultivating his own show-business skills at Stagedoor Manor, a renowned children's acting camp. After attracting the attention of a well-connected talent scout, Braff made his would-have-been television debut opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in an unsold pilot produced by Bruce Paltrow. His contribution to CBS's after-school special My Summer as a Girl in 1994 made it to the television screen, but, by that time, he had a significantly more notable role under his belt: the teenaged son of two neurotic New Yorkers (Woody Allen and Diane Keaton) in Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993).
Though moderately successful in his childhood and late teens, Braff opted to attend college at Northwestern University rather than making an immediate transition to a full-time career of pursuing roles in the wilds of Los Angeles. While at Northwestern, Braff wrote and directed several short films, among them Lionel on a Sunday, which fared successfully in the 1998 festival season. The young actor went on to co-star in Getting to Know You, an adaptation of various short stories penned by author Joyce Carol Oates, which won praise at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. After a role as a gay party-boy drug addict in The Broken Hearts Club (2000), which won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film, Braff auditioned for Scrubs; despite his prior experience, the sitcom undoubtedly became his breakout role.
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