There's no shortage of cast infighting throughout the history of television. Even the seemingly tight-knit cast of Seinfeld had some issues with each other. But this doesn't seem to have been the case with the actors on writer Bill Lawrence's 2001 show.
There are a couple of questionable things that happened on the set of Scrubs, including two actors not being asked to return. But, for the most part, everyone was exceptionally close. Aside from making some great money on the NBC sitcom (which ran until 2010), the cast made life-long friendships that even inspired the show itself. So much of this is due to Bill Lawrence's demand that diva-attitude be left at the door...
The Cast Of Scrubs Became Friends Instantly
Many of Scrubs' fans wonder what happened to the cast. While some, like Zach Braff, are still very much in the public eye, others have seemingly vanished. And yet, almost all of them are still friends today. And this dynamic was almost instantaneous. According to an oral history of the show by The Independent, the cast hit it off with one another as soon as they sat down for their first table read.
"[Creator] Bill [Lawrence] had the first table read at his house, with all the cast and writers, and it was one of those table reads that gave you goosebumps," Sarah Chalke, who played Dr. Elliot Reid, said to The Independent. "I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Obviously, all of us had never seen any of the others play their parts and I was just on the floor watching these other actors. I was like 'Oh my God, I’m so lucky to be a part of this with these people.'"
Judy Reyes, who played Nurse Carla Espinosa, added that the chemistry was "instant".
"I got here and everybody was just like they had been together their entire life. Zach [Braff] and Donald [Faison] were instantly in love, and Sarah Chalke was the perfect foil and addition to the friendship," Judy explained. "Johnny C [McGinley] was intense in his own way, but he put it brilliantly into the character, and Bill was such a constant element – there all the time, guiding the vision of the show – and I was doing some of the craziest s*** I’ve ever done in my career, still to this day."
Diva Attitudes Weren't Allowed On The Set Of Scrubs
John C. McGinley, who played Dr. Perry Cox, claimed that Bill Lawrence was dedicated to making sure no one developed an attitude on set. In fact, as soon as the show was greenlit, Bill gathered the entire cast and crew in the cafeteria in the hospital they were shooting in and laid the ground rules.
"[He] articulated that there was a 'no a**hole' policy on set," John explained. "All he meant was, it’s not that you have to come to work and walk on pins and needles, but you do have to come to work and be nice. It set the tone. It wasn’t a Mr. Tough Guy thing – it was just putting it out there that we’re going to be here for long hours, and you’ve got to be nice. Everybody knows what 'You’ve got to be nice' means."
"There was a sense all along that we were an ensemble, and no one person was more important than the show itself," Neil Flynn, who played Janitor, added. "Bill officially said, as a policy, 'This is a no-a**hole situation. Do as you wish, but don’t be an a**hole. That will not be tolerated.'"
Because of this understanding amongst the cast, they gelled almost immediately. There was a shared goal of treating the sitcom as an ensemble. It wasn't about one or two people. It was about everyone. And this really helped them through grueling hours.
"We were doing 16, 17 hour days, and spent a lot of time altogether – and still the whole crew would go out on a Friday night after work and hang out. You know when you’re spending that much time together at work, and then hanging out afterward, that it was fun," Sarah said.
Zach Braff And Donald Faison's Friendship Inspired The Show
The dynamic between Zach Braff's Dr. John Dorian, AKA 'J.D.', and Donald Faison's Dr. Christopher Turk, is easily one of the highlights of Scrubs. They had undeniable chemistry and it wasn't fabricated. In fact, it actually inspired the writers to design more stories around their relationship.
"Zach and Donald’s best friendship in real life and on the show is the best example of [the writers being inspired by off-screen chemistry]. It was so sweet and cool to watch because they truly are best friends in real life, and all that stuff got written in," Sarah claimed, before stating that the friendship between Donald and Zach wasn't the only dynamic the writers were inspired by. "Donald and I had a handshake that we kept adding to – it was about three-and-a-half minutes long. Bill saw us do it one day and said: 'OK, we’re putting that in the show.' If the writers asked what you did that weekend, you’d tell them a story and read about it in the next episode. You had to be careful what you shared."
Judy Reyes and Donald Faison's real-life relationship also made it into the show. They would constantly goof around between takes and the writers knew it would be comedy gold.
This insanely easy-going atmosphere was deeply important to almost all of the stars. In a 2018 Scrubs reunion at the Vulture Festival in L.A., Zach Braff said, "I love seeing these people. I had more fun making this show than anything I've ever done...We have literally nine years of inside jokes."
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGibopxdqbWmedKcqa6ao2Kwor%2FTZp6erF2WubC6xmg%3D