Zach Braff: I laugh in the face of death

Zach Braff has cheated death "lots of times".

The 39-year-old got himself into a lot of scrapes as Dr. John Dorian in the hit comedy Scrubs. And in real life, Zach finds himself taking risks on a daily basis.

"Oh yeah, lots of times," he replied when asked by the British edition of Esquire if he had ever cheated death. "I have my pilot’s licence so I’ve cheated death often. And I ride a motorcycle in Los Angeles, which is cheating death the second you start the engine. I think all that stuff – flying an airplane, riding a motorcycle, driving fast – is about risk management."

But despite his risky hobbies, when it comes to having a hidden talent, Zach doesn't feel he can bring much to the table. It's so underwhelming in fact, he doesn't like to show it to many people.

"I can balance a broomstick for a very long time on one finger. No one cares and it’s not impressive enough to be a party trick," he admitted. "I was just f**king around one day and I did it, and I was like, 'Wow, I can do this for a very long time!' You do nothing with it but entertain yourself when you’re alone."

When he's not balancing broomsticks on his fingers, Zach has been busy promoting his latest film Wish I Was Here. The funnyman not only stars in the film but took on the role of director too. It's the second time he has been at the helm of a movie after 2004's Garden State, which saw him win the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.

"It’s kind of the coolest award that a new filmmaker can get (obviously, other than an Oscar), and I won it on my first film," he said. "I was really, really proud of that because everybody passed on Garden State – no one wanted to make it, no one thought I could do it – and so not only did I do it but I won that really amazing award. That was cool."