Braff loses control in "Kiss"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Call him a control freak who lost it, if only for one movie.

Zach Braff, star of television comedy "Scrubs," plays a man turning 30, facing fatherhood and going a little crazy in his new movie, "The Last Kiss," which debuts on Friday.

The role is a far cry from the real Braff, 31. Two years ago his movie, "Garden State," which he wrote, directed and starred-in, became a hit in art house cinemas and gave him something for which he'd longed since college: control over filmmaking.

Writing and directing allowed Braff to draw upon his own experiences and comment on culture. Among its themes, "Garden State" touched on society's obsession with psychiatric drugs.

"Once you experience being in control, a producer or director on a project, it's very spoiling," Braff told Reuters. "I was lucky I started to get work as an actor, but for me I always dreamed of -- first and foremost -- being a filmmaker."

Braff graduated from Northwestern University in Illinois after studying filmmaking, but acting -- not filmmaking -- gave him his first paying jobs in Hollywood.

In "Scrubs," he plays a young doctor with a penchant for daydreaming in a hospital of eccentric physicians, and when the TV show became a hit, Braff was instantly known as an actor.

It is not that he doesn't like acting, and movies like "Last Kiss" give him the chance to work with other directors (in this case, Tony Goldwyn) and writers (Oscar winner Paul Haggis) from whom he can learn, Braff said.

"It's nice to be able to give all that pressure to somebody else because there's just a huge amount of pressure involved with directing a movie," he said.

THOUGHT PROVOKING KISS

In "Last Kiss," Braff portrays an up-and-coming executive named Michael whose seemingly perfect life is thrown into chaos when he meets a college girl. Michael's loving girlfriend is pregnant with their first child. Marriage and a domestic life await, only Michael is not sure he wants either.

The drama, for which there is early Oscar buzz for Braff and for Blythe Danner, who portrays his mom, explores human nature and personal relationships. It is not a wacky comedy like "Scrubs," nor is his role simply a grown-up version of the searching, 20-something whom Braff played in "Garden State."

"In 'Garden State,' the character is depressed and medicated and at the bottom" Braff said. "For (Michael) everything is perfect, only it's not."

Braff tries to ignore talk of Oscars, saying the experience of acting and making movies is wonderful enough. He wants to avoid being let down if awards fail to materialize.

Moreover, the actor and filmmaker has more important things on his mind. He is making plans to direct a new movie, "Open Hearts," adapted from a 2002 Danish film by director Susanne Bier.

Braff also co-wrote the screenplay for "Open Hearts," which he called a "dark drama" about the effect an auto accident has on two families. "I wanted to go far away from 'Garden State,' but that still had things I like most about films, which is great dialogue and great character," he said.