3 things to know about Zach Braff

Zach Braff, a well-known actor, director, and screenwriter, rose to prominence in the medical comedy Scrubs, which ran for nine seasons from 2001 to 2010. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2005 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, as well as three Golden Globe Awards for his work on the show.

In 2019, Zach Braff began dating Florence Pugh, known for her breakout roles in Ari Aster's folk-horror Midsommar (2019), Greta Gerwig's period drama Little Women (2019), and Marvel Studios' Black Widow (2021).

Florence Pugh and Zach Braff's social media interaction began in 2018, when Braff praised Pugh on Twitter for her performance in the period drama Lady Macbeth. They began dating in 2019 after the release of Braff's short film, In The Time It Takes to Get There, for Adobe Cloud, in which Pugh co-starred with Alicia Silverstone as a 19th-century influencer.

Pugh recently revealed to Harper's Bazaar that she and Braff, who is 21 years her senior, quietly ended their relationship earlier this year after dating for over two years. She said:

“We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on. We just felt something like this would really do us the benefit of not having millions of people telling us how happy they are that we’re not together. So we’ve done that. I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it.”

In the wake of the couple calling it quits, let us take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about Zach Braff.

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3 things about Zach Braff that you might not know

1) He loves dogs

Zach Braff is a huge fan of dogs. His adopted dog, Roscoe Braff, died in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, he and his then-partner Florence Pugh fostered a puppy named Billie from the Labelle Foundation, a Los Angeles-based animal rescue organisation. They eventually decided to adopt Billie legally.

Braff discussed adopting Billie in an April 2020 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. He said:

“We thought we were going to foster this dog, but we did this thing that I didn't know was an expression called ‘foster fail.’ And of course, within like 30 seconds of having this puppy, we were like, ‘We're never giving this puppy back.’ I joke that we should have named her serotonin because she just brings so much joy to me.”

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2) He has a pilot's license

Zach Braff is a licenced pilot. He took flying lessons because he was a nervous flier who was afraid of flying. However, after taking flying lessons, he allegedly became addicted to aviation. In an interview with Ellen, Braff stated:

“It's great for a highly neurotic Jew. I got into it because I'd become this really nervous flier and I thought understanding how it works would calm me down - now I'm hooked. It quiets your mind, when you are someone who thinks a lot and your brain is going non-stop, it has to become still so you can focus.”

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3) He is best friends with his Scrubs co-star Donald Faison

Zach Braff and his Scrubs co-star Donald Faison are best friends, much like their on-screen characters Turk and J.D. After the first season of Scrubs, the two even rented a room in New York City and lived together as roommates. They allegedly spent the summer in their underwear playing ping pong.

Faison met his wife Cacee Cobb at Braff's 30th birthday party in 2005, and they married in 2012 in a beautiful rustic-themed wedding in Braff's backyard, with Braff serving as a groomsman. Braff is also a godfather to their children, Rocco and Wilder.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Braff and Faison collaborated virtually to create a podcast series called Fake Doctors, Real Friends, where the duo discussed their memories and scenes from Scrubs. They reunited again to play neighbors in the 2022 T-Mobile Super Bowl commercial.

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Florence Pugh and Zach Braff have also worked together on Braff's upcoming drama, A Good Person, which also stars Morgan Freeman. It's set to be released next year.