Zach Braff: Hollywood actor and director on his latest exploration of grief, loss and recovery, A Good Person

Scrubs and Garden State star Zach Braff returns with a new film, having recently written, directed and produced A Good Person. This dramatic journey of healing and self-forgiveness stars Morgan Freeman, Molly Shannon, and Florence Pugh, who leads the film as Allison- an aspiring musician on the road to recovery after a deadly accident.

Florence Pugh’s acting career is on a hot streak, having wowed audiences with her impressive performances in Little Women, Black Widow, The Wonder and Don’t Worry Darling. Zach Braff is among her many fans, describing her to ZB’s Francesca Rudkin as “One of the most extraordinary young actors we have on the planet today.”

“I think it just goes back to that old-school Hollywood star. With a star, there’s light emanating from a person’s center. It isn’t just that Florence is beautiful, it isn’t just that she’s an extraordinary actress, it’s that she has this star quality that we see in certain people on the silver screen.”

Zach Braff crafted A Good Person with Florence Pugh in mind from the beginning. The pair were dating throughout the Covid-19 lockdown period and a mutual friend dying from the virus inspired Zach Braff to write about loss and grief and pain and recovery.

“I wrote this for her. She liked it- thank goodness- and then she actually wrote the songs herself that the character sings in the movie. It was a collaborative process from the get-go. And then Morgan Freeman came aboard and then it all got very real.”

A Good Person also stars Morgan Freeman. Zach Braff and Morgan Freeman have history together, having worked together on the 2017 heist comedy Going in Style, also directed by Braff. Despite this, Zach Braff told Francesca Rudkin that directing the Hollywood legend was “intimidating.”

“I still had to give myself pep talks in the mirror each morning to not be intimidated by him. But he and I have a really nice banter and he trusts me. Even though he is a stoic man and can be intimidating because he’s such a living legend, he really let me push him.”

Zach Braff has clearly established himself as a skilled director from the early stages of his career. He directed several episodes of Scrubs, Garden State, Wish I Was Here and even racked up award nominations for directing the Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso. Zach Braff explained to Francesca how his experience in front of the camera inspired him behind the scenes.

“I think, stereotypically, actors like actors-turned-directors, because they know what it’s like to receive bad direction, they know what doesn’t work, they know what’s confusing. They know no one wants to be told- it’s this, or you’re wrong. Because that’s not a way to create art together.”

A Good Person is another example of Zach Braff using his life experience to influence on-screen projects, as the film was inspired by his own feelings of loss and recovering after tragedies. Despite these themes, Braff makes sure to offset the subject matter with intermittent humour.

“I think you need to have humor as a release. And in my own life, that’s how I felt. I felt that when we were going through stuff in my own personal life, we felt so happy when we would make a joke and there would be a humorous release. It was like letting steam out of an engine.”

What’s next for Zach Braff’s creative pursuits? Despite having shifted his focus to directing and writing, Zach Braff has made it clear to Francesca Rudkin he doesn’t want to give up on acting either.

“I’m pursuing acting and I continue to pursue acting. But I certainly love directing a lot, I get a lot of joy out of it. It’s extraordinarily stressful though, so I think for my own mental health, I can’t do it that often.”

A Good Person is coming to cinemas in New Zealand on May 18th.

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