“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,” Braff recounted.

Zach Braff was mortified when Michael Fassbender mistook him for Dax Shepard in Vegas nightclub: ‘So cringe’

"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," Braff recounted.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 18, 2026 10:21 p.m. ET

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Zach Braff and Dax Shepard, both photographed in 2024. Credit:

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty; Rick Kern/Getty

- Zach Braff recalls an awkward encounter with Michael Fassbender during a night out with his *Scrubs *buddy at a Vegas nightclub.

- Braff told Dax Shepard on Monday's *Armchair Expert *podcast that Fassbender grabbed him and said, "I love your work," then proceeded to describe Shepard's.

- "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," Braff explained. "It's so cringe."

Zach Braff and Dax Shepard have at least one thing in common: their desire for Michael Fassbender's approval.

Braff explained why in a hilarious, cringe-inducing story about a recent night out in Vegas with his *Scrubs *buddy for life, Donald Faison, on Monday's episode of Shepard's *Armchair Expert *podcast.

The *Garden State *star recounted how he ended up losing and then relocating Faison upstairs in the club's DJ booth. On his way up, "I was grabbed by the shoulders by Michael Fassbender." Braff explained that the "very handsome" *Shame *star "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---ing awesome. I wish we could work together.'"

Braff recalled, "My ego is like here." Until it wasn't.

'Scrubs' stars Donald Faison and Zach Braff; Michael Fassbender in London in September 2025.

Bob D'Amico/ABC via Getty; Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty

Braff was able to bask in the warm glow of praise from the German-Irish Oscar-nominee a short time longer. And so was Faison, who watched over the whole encounter.

"Donald's looking at me like, 'Yeah, boy.' Proud. And then [Fassbender] goes, 'I mean, f---ing *CHiPs*, dude,'" Braff continued.

Dax Shepard in 'CHiPs' (2017).

It was Shepard who starred in the 2017 big screen adaptation of the classic buddy cop series, not Braff. The two said that they get mistaken for one another all the time, and a laughing Shepard conceded, "We would both love [Fassbender's] approval." But that night, it stayed with Shepard.

"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," Braff explained. "It's so cringe."

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Braff may not have won Fassbender's affection that night, but Faison proved his bottomless fidelity to his friend.

"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."

Faison listed off Braff's well-known credits, from *Garden State *and *Scrubs *to *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 said.

'X-Men: First Class' star Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto. Twentieth Century Fox

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Faison's stalwart defense of Braff comes as no surprise to *Scrubs *fans, who saw their J.D. (Braff) and Turk (Faison) go from buddies to besties across the sitcom's nine seasons.

The pair reunited along with original series stars Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley, Judy Reyes, and more on the series revival, which premiered in February. Season 10 kicked off with a premiere directed by Braff, and wraps up with its finale on April 15.

You can listen to Braff's full appearance on the *Armchair Expert *podcast above.

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