Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005.In 2004, Braff made his directorial debut with Garden State. He returned to his home state New Jersey to shoot the film, which was produced for $2.5 million.