In a rowdy address to about 900 GW students, actor Zach Braff was at turns court jester and motivational speaker, quipping about his days as a member of Phi Kappa Psi and offering insight into his career.
The writer and director of the cult film “Garden State” and star of the long-running NBC sitcom “Scrubs” joined Vice President for External Relations Lorraine Voles on stage at Lisner Auditorium for the Grand Chapter Meeting of the 45 organizations in GW’s Greek community.
The annual event was co-sposored by the Program Board, the Student Association, the PanHellenic Association, the Inter-Fraternity Council and the Multicultural Greek Council.
Mr. Braff called the cheering crowd the best group he’s ever spoken to and put on a show that was something of a stand-up comedy act.
“I get a lot out of it,” he said backstage. “Telling funny anecdotes and stories, and hopefully inspiring people, are things I really enjoy doing.”
The 1997 graduate of Northwestern University and successful writer, actor and director sang both the “Steak Night” and “Guy Love” songs from “Scrubs” to the delight of die-hard fans.
He also posed for an on-stage “selfie” with one lucky sorority girl and informed the crowd that though he is a staunch Democrat, he is also related to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney through the last woman killed in the Salem witch trials, a fact he found out from a genealogist with “way too much time on his hands.”
Mr. Braff reminisced about the “Animal House”-style antics of his fraternity during his undergraduate years, while also stressing the bond and community of the brotherhood.
“I was sort of lonesome and homesick, but when I walked into Phi Psi it was the perfect match,” Mr. Braff said in a pre-show interview.
“There were all these people who were like me, and there was such common ground that I just felt at home,” he added.
After graduating with a degree in film, he began working on the sets of music videos in New York, while auditioning tirelessly for roles. He jokingly noted that he would sometimes double park a van full of equipment during the work day, so that he could run into an audition.
“I was very driven,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way.”
It was an ill-fated move to L.A. to chase a girl—“don’t ever follow anyone anywhere,” he deadpanned— and time spent as a waiter at a French-Vietnamese restaurant, which later became the inspiration for the opening scenes in “Garden State,” that set the stage for landing his big break.
At the time he was ready to give up, especially after an audition for a role in a play by famed playwright Edward Albee fell through.
According to Mr. Braff, the disappointment was a lesson in disguise, as it allowed him to audition for the starring role of “J.D.” in “Scrubs,” the award-winning sitcom that ran for nine seasons and established his career.
"When you don't get that huge job or you don't get into that thing you wanted to get into, in my experience—and this has happened time and again in my career—something 10 times more amazing has been the result," he said.
His determination has not abated, as evidenced by his new Kickstarter venture to raise funds for “I Wish I Was Here,” a feature film written, directed and starring Mr. Braff that has been nearly 10 years in the making.
This makes me really happy. @zachbraff's video at #GWU! Thanks for an awesome night.kickstarter.com/projects/18699…
— Sean Ian Lynch (@seanianlynch) April 26, 2013
Founded in 2009, Kickstarter utilizes crowd-sourcing, a means of financing projects that lets anyone donate or “invest” in a production.
Mr. Braff launched his Kickstarter page on the day of the event, raising more than $1 million within the first 12 hours—over half of his $2 million goal.
The project hits its target on Saturday, April 26 and with a little under a month left to raise funds, the film is sure to attract more donations.
He was inspired to try Kickstarter by the lack of funding for “smaller, personal films” and the success of the “Veronica Mars” project that revived the possibility of a film version of the popular series by crowdsourcing $2 million in 11 hours.
“It can and does work. The fans can be your backers, and you can make a movie for the people who funded it,” Mr. Braff said. “It’s fascinating, exciting and cool to be a part of a new frontier.”
Mr. Braff also praised the idea of micro-financing for the arts and, specifically, film projects.
“Very soon you’ll be able to invest in a piece of a film project and own it like stock,” he said.
He also captured the excitement of the crowd in a video thanking donors for supporting “I Wish I Was Here” and making it to the $1 million mark, a milestone that, according to Mr. Braff will be forever tied to his appearance at GW, since he found out about the feat just before coming to the show.
“I’ll always remember this and all of you because it happened here at GW,” he said.