Zach Braff on The Last Kiss

"Five years ago, I was a waiter," says Zach Braff, still sounding amazed at how much his life has changed. A struggling actor, he became famous virtually overnight when he scored the lead in 'Scrubs', the surreal medical sitcom that's been syndicated across the globe. But that wasn't really what he wanted to do.

"I set out to be a filmmaker," he says. "I went to film school. That's what I always dreamed of doing. I loved acting and I thought I would do that on the side, get myself small parts in movies. But my real focus from the beginning was always to get my own movies made and then when I got 'Scrubs' I was able to sign with a big agency and that changed everything."

Garden State, Braff's directorial debut, was one of the indie success stories of 2004. Starring Braff himself alongside Natalie Portman, it told the story of twentysomething Andrew 'Large' Largeman who discovers love after a lifetime on anti-depressants. Although Braff didn't write The Last Kiss, the character he plays, Michael, could almost be a continuation of Large. But for Michael, 30 years old, getting into a relationship isn't the problem, it's whether he's ready to commit to marriage and kids. Having just hit the big Three-O when he was sent the script, did Braff identify with Michael's dilemma?

"Of course. But the main thing is how great Paul Haggis's script was. Screenplays like this are so few and far between. After Garden State I felt that all the things I was getting sent were a total step in the wrong direction. So I waited until I found something I responded to. I ran to it because it was honest and real. I could totally relate to a lot of Michael's emotions."

Next page • "Protagonists who are altruistic and perfect and do all the right things are such bullshit"