10 Greatest Minor Scrubs Characters
4. Ben Sullivan
Played By – Brendan Fraser, Appearances – 2 (My Occurrence, My Screw Up)
Like most sitcoms, Scrubs resorted to the ‘celebrity guest star’ trope on several occasions each season. Many either stuck around for far too long (such as Heather Graham’s kooky Molly Clock), were almost universally despised (Courtney Cox’s Dr. Maddox) or appeared in just one episode with little to no impact on the overarching story (such as Dick van Dyke, Colin Farrell and Matthew Perry).
The exception was with Jordan’s two siblings Ben and Danni, the former played by Brendan Fraser and the latter by Tara Reid. Danni’s appearances were far more numerous given her status as one of J.D’s love interests, but Ben is the more fondly remembered character for the impact of his storyline on Dr. Cox.
Diagnosed with leukaemia in his first appearance, his death in his second was not acknowledged until the end of the episode, with viewers led to wonder why Cox is being so hard on J.D. until his best friend is revealed to a figment of his imagination and conscience.
The drop was devastating and it was dramatically impactful episodes like this that made Scrubs repeatedly stand out from other comedies on television. Ben’s appearances, though brief, rank up there with the series’ emotional moments given the depth and vulnerability that they add to one of the show’s best characters.