Zach Braff says breaking into acting remains a lottery, even for talented people with conventional good looks.
The Scrubs and Garden State star made the observation in a reader Q&A for The Guardian. When asked whether an early-2000s version of himself could succeed today, Braff said the landscape has become harder. "Back then, the broadcast networks were making so many pilots, at least it was work for people," he said. "Now, I think it's a much harder landscape to break through."
Braff added: "I firmly believe that you can be talented and good-looking, but success is still like winning the lottery. I know plenty of brilliant actors whose lottery ticket hasn't come up yet."
He attributed his own success partly to luck. "I started auditioning at 14 and barely got anything for years, so I've always felt very lucky," he said.
Braff also discussed directing established actors including Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Harrison Ford. Asked how he avoids appearing starstruck on set, Braff said he uses acting itself as a tool. "That's where my acting comes in. I pretend that I don't know how famous they are," he said.
He argued that seasoned performers want strong leadership from a director. "Every actor really wants a leader. They want someone who knows the script really well, has a plan for how the scene is going to be executed, and – in the case of comedy – knows how to make it funny," Braff said. "The last thing any of those guys wants is someone coming in starstruck and wide-eyed. So I use my acting skills to pretend I'm not starstruck and treat them like normal people."
Braff has been hosting the Fake Doctors, Real Friends podcast, which he described as helpful during lockdown for its emotional openness.