Zach Braff

Zach: I think the saddest moments in life have humor in them. I have a memory of coming home from a funeral with my family in the back of a limousine and someone cracking a joke and us just hysterically belly laughing. It's how we always dealt with tragedy in our lives and I think it's such a healthy way to deal with sadness.

Zach: People want to laugh. If you combine laughter with compassion, what two stronger things could people want nowadays?

Zach: I met Evangeline Lilly, and [I told] her my Lost theory: purgatory. She shook her head. 'That is the most common theory. You don't think everybody has thought of that?'

Zach: (on mishandling babies during the filming of movie, "The Ex") The only thing I found very difficult was I never really held a baby before, and I didn't know how to do it. The rest of the cast had some experience so they knew that you have to hold the head. Supposedly you have to hold their heads because it's not strong. So the first couple babies, I injured them. The baby you see in the film was number six. One through five they will be fine, but they might walk funny.

Zach: I'm a romantic. There's something incredibly powerful about finding a lifelong soulmate

Zach: (On Hollywood's initial reaction to Garden State) Everyone said no. Everyone with a date book and a phone in Los Angeles said no.

Zach: (On Hollywood studio executives) They put all this money into these huge movies, and then no one goes to see them... That sort of shows that they're out of touch. Then, everyone in town passes on my little movie, and it does really well.

Zach: I always liked the story of Noah's Ark and the idea of starting a new by rescuing the things you like and leaving the rest behind.

Zach: So, yeah, I mean, there is something universal about that feeling--that 20-something, what the hell am I going to do with my life, I'm lost and my parents are freaking me out, and what's the point? Every generation has a way of making that unique, but there are certain universals of that feeling.

Zach: (On writing) The way I write is that I'll actually have a conversation out loud with myself. In a weird way, I just kind of get schizophrenic and play two characters.

Zach: I am really driven, but my drive doesn't effect the conversations i have in my head about life, and worries and fears and insecurities.

Zach: (On finding the music for Garden State) Actually when I gave out the script, I gave it with a CD of all the music I wanted to put into the movie and again we never thought we would get all the music.

Zach: But my Mother's a psychologist, my Stepfather's a psychologist, my Stepmother is a therapist and my Dad's a lawyer. So it was all prominent in my life. I dont know anyone who doesn't know someone on some form of prescription medicine.

Zach: It used to be that you came out of school, and you got married, those who were going to get married. But my peers are getting married in their early 30's, so now ther's like an extra 10 years of that angst.

Zach: (On why he wanted to do something different) I said, I'm on this TV show and I love doing it, but i don't want to always be known as the silly "Scrubs" guy, so part of me was like, you know what? life's short. Lets go for it.

Zach: (On Natalie Portman) I remember seeing her in Beautiful Girls and The Professional and being like, this girl is genius! This girl is ahead of her time, This girl is a prodigy.

Zach: They put all this money into these huge films and then no one goes to see them. That sort of shows there out of touch. Then everyone in town passes on my little movie and it does really well.

Zach: Everyone has an idea that they think would be a great movie. Everyone has a cousin they think you should work with. Everyone has a warped vision of hollywood and what success in hollywood is really like.

Zach: I love Scrubs. Its the best day job in the world.