From director Gail Lerner and co-written by Kenya Barris & Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry, the family comedy Cheaper By the Dozen follows the Bakers, a blended family made up of one mom, one dad, nine kids, two dogs (cleverly named Bark Obama and Joe Biten), one cousin, and two exes, who are just trying to get it all done and hold it all together, albeit in a louder and more hectic way. Zoey (Gabrielle Union) and Paul (Zach Braff), who also own a local eatery that serves round-the-clock breakfast, have a lot going on, but they seem to always manage to stare down the challenges and celebrate the successes.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Braff talked about why this is such a universal story, the days of mayhem during the shoot, avoiding chaos in his own life, and how he’s invested in a restaurant himself, just like his character. He also talked about how he came to direct an early episode of Ted Lasso, and what audiences can expect from Florence Pugh’s performance in his latest directorial effort, A Good Person.

Collider: Cheaper by the Dozen started as a semi-autobiographical novel that was published in 1948. The first movie adaptation was in 1950, and it’s had a few movies and sequels since then. There are movies that can’t or shouldn’t be updated or remade, and yet somehow, this one keeps working. Why do you think it is that this story can continue to be updated and modernized and work is an entertaining movie, no matter the decade?

ZACH BRAFF: I think everyone's kids tap into the idea of, “Can you imagine how much fun it would be to have nine siblings?” It’s a fantasy. It’s a heightened reality. And of course, the parents go, “Oh my goodness, we think we got it tough with one or two or three. Can you imagine having 10?” Everyone can relate their own life to this heightened version of it. Parents can relate to the struggle between managing their work life with their parental life, and their goals and aspirations. And when you have 10 kids, you can create 10 unique personalities and it’s always funny to see all of them butting up against each other. Obviously, it took great writing from Kenya Barris to be able to do this blended family version because he’s so good at that kind of thing. I thought it was hilarious when I read it. I said, “If I’m gonna do a family movie, I wanna do one where the adults will find it funny too,” and I thought this was hilarious.

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Image via Disney+

RELATED: 'Cheaper by the Dozen' Trailer Showcases More Baker Family Antics

Between the mom, the dad, the nine kids, the two dogs, the two exes and a cousin, what was it like to have everyone on set, all at once? Was it just loud? Did the dogs behave? What was that whole experience like?

BRAFF: There were some days where it was mayhem. I’m a director myself, and I turned to Gail [Lerner] one day when there was 10 kids, four adults, two dogs and the full crew, and I was like, “This is double black diamond directing. I am so glad I’m not directing this movie. You’re doing a fantastic job. I’m gonna go hide in the corner and just zen out for a moment.” It was really hard. Mostly, the kids were great. They were so well-behaved. Some of the little ones wanna go wrestle and they wanna play with stuff they’re not supposed to be touching like sea stands, so they had to be wrangled, but we had fun. It was good that Gab is a real mom because Gabrielle could give them that mom eye that would bring them in line.

Life and family inevitably has chaos. Are you someone who bring chaos, or do you sometimes need a time out from chaos?

BRAFF: I need a time-out from chaos. I live a pretty quiet life. I don’t have kids. I live in a quiet neighborhood. I have a dog that I love more than anything, but I have a quiet dog who doesn’t make a lot of noise. It’s funny, I keep getting asked if I want children, and I would like one or two, but I’ll have to adjust from my very quiet lifestyle.

Your character in this not only has all of these kids and dogs, but he’s running a restaurant, which seems just as crazy. Does this guy just live and thrive on chaos, with so much chaos in his life?

BRAFF: I think it evolved over time. When they started, they both had been divorced, they both had exes, and they both had kids, and then it just kept growing. They brought their families together, Brady Bunch style, and then it just kept growing. It was a slow evolution of getting used to it. And then, they had a set of twins and they were like, “Okay, well, that’s crazy.” And then, they adjusted. Then, they had another set of twins. Maybe he slowly got used to it, along the way. It wasn’t just like someone handed him 10 kids. But it’s a heightened reality. Managing 10 children without much help is pretty insane.

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Image via Disney+

A round-the-clock breakfast eatery would be my dream. I am very familiar with any local breakfast and brunch spot within probably 20 miles of my house because I love breakfast food so much that I want to know where I can get whatever I’m in the mood for.

BRAFF: Yeah, we call it brinner.

It’s truly the best. What would you say is the best breakfast meal that Baker’s Breakfast serves?

BRAFF: Oh goodness, I don’t know. There’s the thing I come up with at the end, that I thought was funny, that was a croissant souffle of some kind. I love pancakes though. Do you live in LA out here in L.A.? We have a restaurant that I’m invested in, so I have to give a disclaimer. It’s called Salt’s Cure, and they do the best breakfast, ever. They have these pancakes that will change your life. You’ve gotta order the All-Star, off-menu. It’ll change your life, I promise.

You directed an episode of Ted Lasso, early on in the series run. I love that show, and a lot of people love that show, but at the time that you directed that, you couldn’t have known how that show would be received. What is it about that show that spoke to you and made you wanna direct an episode, so early on?

BRAFF: First of all, I love (executive producer) Bill Lawrence. He’s like a big brother to me. And I love Jason Sudeikis. I always found him hilarious on SNL. They asked me if I wanted to do one and I, at the time, thought, “I have no idea what this is gonna be.” I don’t follow sports at all. My episode actually was the first one that had to have gameplay on the pitch and I was like, “Oh, man.” It was complicated and tricky. In fact, they hadn’t even figured out yet how many days they needed to shoot an episode. I only had five days and I said to Bill, “You know that I’m a fast director, but it’s impossible to shoot this in five days.” And he said, “Yeah, I know. We’re all still figuring everything out, so just do as much as you can.” I knew the actors were so talented and I knew that the scripts were good, but I don’t think anybody knew. Put it this way, I think almost everybody, but Apple TV+ passed on it. Nobody had any clue that it would become this global sensation. And I love it too. I’m so proud that I was able to be the director of the second episode and help set the tone of it.

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Image via Disney+

Are you hoping to direct another episode?

BRAFF: I would. With COVID, going to London right now is so tricky, so I’m not won’t be on Season 3. But I’m gonna stick with Bill. I’ll just tie my wagon to Bill. He’s got a new show with Vince Vaughn that I’m gonna go act, and then I’m going to go direct an episode of this show that he’s got with Jason Segel. That’s what the plan is.

You also have another movie that you’ve written and directed. I’m a big fan of your work, as a director.

BRAFF: Thank you.

When might we get to see that? We all also love Florence Pugh, so what are you excited about with that film and her performance?

BRAFF: Florence Pugh’s performance in the movie, I know I’m biased, but it’s the most miraculous thing you will ever see. I’m not overselling it. It’s a dramedy. It’s her going toe-to-toe with Morgan Freeman. You haven’t seen Morgan like this in years. We just locked picture. We’re sound mixing, starting next week. I know that anything Florence does is incredible. People say she’s maybe the best actress of her generation. I think she’s one of the best actresses working. This performance she gives is unbelievable. As to when it’s gonna be out, that’s the question of the moment. We don’t know if it’ll be the end of this year or the beginning of next year. It’s called A Good Person. It’ll be in the can and all edited and done very soon.

Cheaper by the Dozen is available to stream at Disney+.