Zach Braff recalls 'cringe' encounter with Michael Fassbender
Zach Braff had a "cringe" meeting with Michael Fassbender when the actor heaped praise on his work - but thought he was speaking to Dax Shepard.
Zach Braff was delighted when Michael Fassbender expressed a desire to work together - but then discovered the Shame star thought he was Dax Shepard.
The 50-year-old actor was on a night out in Las Vegas with Scrubs co-star Donald Faison when he ran into the "very handsome" Black Bag actor stopped him to tell him how much he "loved" all of his work, but it didn't take long before he realised it was a case of mistaken identity.
Speaking to Dax on his Armchair Expert podcast, Zach said: "I was grabbed by the shoulders by Michael Fassbender.
"He grabs me, and before I can say anything, he says, 'I love you.' I go, 'Oh my God.' He goes, 'I love your work. I love everything that you do... The s**** you make is f****** awesome. I wish we could work together.'
"My ego is like here.
"Donald's looking at me like, 'Yeah, boy.' Proud. And then [Fassbender] goes, 'I mean, f****** CHiPs, dude.' "
On mentioning Dax's 2017 movie, Zach was left feeling both embarrassed and stuck.
He recalled: "I just felt my heart sink because now, not only is it about Dax, but I don't know how to get out of this encounter. It's so cringe.
"Donald, being like my wife/wingman, is like, 'No, man, this is Zach Braff...' [Fassbender's] face dropped, as embarrassing as it was. And then he starts to kind of back away like, 'Oh man, you guys have the best night!' And Donald goes, 'No, no, no, you come back here.' Like a proud wife."
Donald then began listing his friend's well-known work, including Scrubs, Garden State and The Last Kiss.
Zach continued: "[Fassbender] was just nodding and nodding, and then I'm like, Donald, let's set him free, please. He backed away and that was it. I didn't even make it out of the club. I was so embarrassed."
Zach and Dax noted they both regularly get mistaken for one another.
The host said: "We would both love [Fassbender's] approval."
Zach recently spoke of how "lucky" he feels to have reunited with Donald and Sarah Chalke for the Scrubs revival.
The actor-turned-director told People magazine: "I just feel so lucky. It's the best job. I love laughing with these two.
"I love revisiting these characters. I love finding a new way to tell the story in 2026, sort of re-grounding it, but based back in reality. We got a little crazy and surreal towards the end of the run of Scrubs."
Judy Reyes and John C. McGinley have also returned to star in the TV show's revival, and Zach is convinced that he was right to bide his time before committing to a reboot of the hit series.
The actor - who made his debut on Scrubs back in 2001 - explained: "There were so many people that were asking for this, and I really feel like it took enough time for us to figure out how to do it right and get the right team on board, because it really was assembling the dream team."
