Speaking on a recent episode of Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, the Scrubs star, 50, described how Fassbender enthusiastically approached him.
“I was grabbed by the shoulders by Michael Fassbender,” Braff said, adding that before he could respond, the Oscar-nominated 12 Years a Slave actor told him: “I love you.” and I go, “Oh my God” and he [Fassbender] goes, ‘I love your work. I love everything that you do… The s*** you make is f***ing awesome. I wish we could work together.’”
Braff said the praise initially boosted his confidence. “My ego is like here,” he explained, noting that his Scrubs co-star Donald Faison was looking on approvingly.
However, the situation quickly turned. “And then [Fassbender] goes, ‘I mean, f***ing CHiPs, dude,’” Braff said, “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.”
Shepard, 51, directed and starred in the 2017 action-comedy CHiPs, alongside Michael Peña and Kristen Bell.
According to Braff, Faison stepped in to correct the mix-up. “Donald, being like my wife/wingman, is like, ‘No, man, this is Zach Braff…’ [Fassbender’s] face dropped, as embarrassing as it was,” he said. “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.”
Faison then listed several of Braff’s credits, including Scrubs, Garden State, A Good Person and The Last Kiss.
“He’s 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,” Braff added.