The series Scrubs remains legendary to this day, with many scenes etched in the minds of viewers. The janitor is responsible for many of them. Interestingly, many scenes were improvised, as explained in an interview.
Who is the janitor? The janitor is somewhat of a nemesis to the main character J.D. He is played by Neil Flynn, who later also appeared in the comedy series The Middle. Originally, the janitor was not planned for a larger role, but he convinced the creators.
This was mainly due to his comedic timing and his talent for improvisation. Scrubs allowed its actors a lot of freedom when it came to their own ideas, and Neill Flynn was one of the best.
For a spot, Zach Braff and Donald Faison returned, along with Aquaman:
Zach Braff praises Neil Flynn
In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum on his show Inside of You, Zach Braff, the actor who played J.D., is asked if the actors in Scrubs often improvised. Braff explains that they often could improvise and that Bill Lawrence, the creator of the series, did a great job creating a pleasant working atmosphere.
He gave the actors a lot of freedom. Rosenbaum then asks Braff which actor made him laugh the most, and Braff had an immediate answer: Neil Flynn.
Anyone from Scrubs would probably give the same answer: Neil Flynn, who played the janitor. He is a funny improvisational comedian and a genius, a hilarious person.
Zach Braff about Neil Flynn (Source: Inside of You on YouTube)
Braff explains how there were sometimes parts of the script that simply said: Neil makes something up.
Flynn himself also spoke about this in an interview with Daily Actor. He himself says that it only happened twice, but he also mentions that he was able to improvise a lot, especially in scenes with Braff.
Which scene does Zach Braff particularly remember? In the interview, Braff is also asked by Rosenbaum which scene he found the funniest, and he had one immediately in mind. In the mentioned scene, the janitor tries to convince J.D. to wear the short shorts that his wife made. To convince him, he tells him that his wife only has one pointer finger on one hand and only the little finger and the thumb on the other.
Braff describes how this was one of the scenes that were improvised, and he just couldn’t get over it. Another character without whom one could not imagine the ProSieben afternoon program is Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, who returned for a spin-off: This is how Sheldon felt about his return to The Big Bang Theory.
