ZACH BRAFF (Chicken Little) brings explosive energy, determination, appealing personality, and a rapid-fire delivery to the voice of the film’s title character.
Braff has distinguished himself from his peers—not only as an actor, but as a writer and director. With his feature writing and directorial debut, “Garden State,” Braff revealed himself in all three capacities. He played the lead role of Andrew Largeman among a cast that included Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm and Method Man. With a budget of only $2.5 million, the film premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, where it sold for $5 million in an unprecedented sale to two studios, Fox Searchlight and Miramax.
In addition to grossing over $35 million worldwide, “Garden State” also garnered numerous awards. On the writing side, Braff received a coveted WGA nomination for “Best Original Screenplay.” He earned an Independent Spirit Award for “Best First Feature” as well as a nomination for “Best First Screenplay.” In addition, Braff was awarded “Best Directorial Debut” by the National Board of Review, “Breakthrough Director” by the Hollywood Film Festival and “Most Promising Filmmaker” by the Chicago Film Critics Association. With his hand-picked soundtrack (which went Platinum) including songs by Simon and Garfunkel, Coldplay and Frou Frou, Braff won a Grammy for “Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, TV or Other Visual Media.”
As an actor, Braff was nominated for a 2005 Primetime Emmy® Award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series” and was also nominated for a Golden Globe® in 2005 for “Best Actor in a Television Series,” both for his portrayal of Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian on NBC’s comedy “Scrubs.” His filmography includes roles in “The Broken Hearts Club,” “Getting to Know You,” and “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” in which he played Woody Allen and Diane Keaton’s son. Braff’s stage experience includes New York City’s Public Theatre productions of “Twelfth Night” and “Macbeth” with Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett.
Braff is currently co-writing with his brother Adam an adaptation of the children’s book, Andrew Henry’s Meadow, which he will also executive produce. In addition to playing the romantic lead in DreamWorks’ remake of the Italian film, “The Last Kiss,” Braff will play the male lead in The Weinstein Company’s office/relationship comedy, “Fast Track.”
A native of New Jersey and graduate of Northwestern University’s film program, Braff studied theatre acting while writing and directing his own short films; including “Lionel On A Sun Day” which won numerous awards during the 1998 festival season.
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