Brendan Fraser’s recent jog through the Academy Awards marathon turned into a love fest for the endearing movie star, and the work he had accomplished over the years. As much as his Best Actor Oscar win was earned by his performance in The Whale, it also served as a career retrospective… as the Oscars often are for actors who’ve been around and kicking for awhile. You’d think that the “Brenaissance,” as the celebration became known, might die down after the ceremony, but there are still plenty of people ready and willing to sing Fraser’s praises. And the latest is Scrubs star Zach Braff, who directed the new film A Good Person.
Scrubs lasted nine seasons, and followed Zach Braff’s surgeon in training through his emotional and comedic years at Sacred Heart hospital. Brendan Fraser appeared in three episodes of the show, playing the brother of Jordan (Christa Miller) and best friend of Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley). His arc concluded in the Season 3 episode “My Screw Up,” which I’ll dig into following the quote (because of possible spoilers). It might not be the best episode of Scrubs, but it does feature an impossibly charming performance by the effervescent Fraser.
While appearing on the ReelBlend podcast to promote A Good Person, Zach Braff opened up about working with recent Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, and gushed:
Oh man, I love that guy. And fans should know, there's just not a sweeter person in the world. He really is that humble, menschy guy. He did that little arc for us on Scrubs, and it's like the most beloved thing in Scrubs history. People love (it). Universally, that’s like everyone's favorite episode… that funeral episode.
Basically, thanks to The Whale and Scrubs, if Brendan Fraser dies on screen in your movie or television show, audiences are going to love it. If you made it this far into the article, then you know that Fraser’s endearing character, Ben, dies of leukemia, a fact that devastates Dr. Cox. The overly confident surgeon blames Braff’s character, J.D., and then devolves into a pit of alcohol and self-pity. It allows the snarky John C. McGinley to remind Scrubs audiences of what a terrific dramatic actor he could be. It definitely belongs on the list of the all-time best Scrubs episodes.
Listen to our complete interview as part of the latest ReelBlend episode:
Zach Braff has remained busy over the years after leaving Scrubs, churning out impressive movies and directing episodes of Ted Lasso and Shrinking, both by his Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. We also recently did a rundown of the entire Scrubs cast, to see what they have been up to. But for Braff, his latest is the directorial effort A Good Person, which co-stars Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman in a deeply emotional study of two relatable characters dealing with a shared tragedy. It’s in theaters as we speak.
