For half a century, Henry Winkler has been a television icon, embodying characters from the leather-clad rebel Arthur “the Fonz” Fonzarelli to the gleefully self-important acting teacher Gene Cousineau. At the Television Academy’s first-ever Televerse festival, the two worlds collided in a truly meta moment: Winkler, the actor who won an Emmy for playing a fictional acting teacher, stepped into the role for real. With a disarming mix of wit and wisdom, the 79-year-old performer offered a simple, yet profoundly challenging, piece of advice to his students and, by extension, to everyone in the room: “You have to get out of your own way.” This singular philosophy, he says, has guided his entire career and is the secret to a life well-lived, both on and off the screen.
From the Fonz to Gene Cousineau: A Teacher’s Evolution
Henry Winkler’s career is a testament to the power of reinvention. He burst onto the scene in the 1970s as the inimitable Fonz in “Happy Days,” a role that cemented his place in pop culture history. It’s a character so beloved that he still, to this day, performs his iconic “Ayyyy” on request. But while the Fonz was a young man in his prime, Winkler was already in his late twenties, and the journey from that breakout role to his celebrated performance in “Barry” was anything but straightforward.
As the actor himself notes, it’s a “shock” to have been working in Hollywood for 50 years. His portrayal of Gene Cousineau, the comically narcissistic acting coach, earned him an Emmy Award at the age of 72, a full 45 years after he first played the Fonz. It was a role that drew heavily on his own experiences and one that he clearly savored. Watching him teach in Los Angeles, it’s clear that his on-screen character was a loving, if exaggerated, sendup. With a collection of actor pairs presenting scenes, Winkler offered challenging, yet precise feedback, with notes ranging from “stop moving so much” to “don’t hide!” Teaching the craft, he says, is now one of his “favorite things to do,” a fitting evolution for a man who has inhabited so many distinct corners of the entertainment stratosphere, from the “Scream” movie franchise to “Parks & Rec” to “Arrested Development.”
The Mantra of ‘Nirvana’: Finding Presence on Set and in Life
Winkler’s core philosophy, the tenet he kept returning to throughout his class and in a subsequent interview, is the concept of getting out of your own way. He describes it as a long-term, continuous process. “It took me a long time to finally get out of my own way,” he shared with the class. “You’re constantly working on getting out of your own way. And when you do, it’s like nirvana.” For Winkler, this profound state is something you can feel “in your every fiber of your being.”
The actor vividly recalls moments earlier in his career when he would get tripped up by his own self-consciousness. He would find himself in a scene with a famous celebrity and instead of being fully present, he would be thinking, “I’m in a scene with a star!” as opposed to being in the scene. This mantra, however, extends beyond the stage and screen. Now nearing 80, Winkler reflects on his life with the same perspective. “I knew what I wanted at 27 – it took me til I was 72 to put it together,” he said, suggesting that a life of constant self-discovery is the real performance. The keys to this, he says, seem simple: Be present and, most importantly, listen. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
An Uncanny Connection: The Chemistry with Ron Howard
Winkler provides the perfect illustration of his “get out of your own way” philosophy through his long-standing collaboration with his “Happy Days” co-star, Ron Howard. The chemistry between the two was apparent from the start of their careers. “Ron Howard and I, in the very beginning of my career here in Hollywood, we had like an imaginary thread between us,” Winkler recalled. The connection was so “uncanny” that they could take a three-page scene, memorize it, rehearse it, improvise it, and shoot it three times in just 20 minutes with “no language at all.”
This profound creative bond, built on a foundation of mutual trust and presence, is a testament to the power of a true scene partner. Winkler remains as thrilled as ever for his friend and colleague. When Howard made a rare return to acting for a guest part in the first season of Apple TV’s “The Studio” and scored his first Emmy acting nomination for the role, Winkler was among the first to call him. He describes Howard as “just an animated, wisdom-filled fellow,” a description that seems to apply equally to both alums of the beloved 1970s sitcom. The wisdom is clearly abundant in both men, a testament to a lifelong friendship forged in the very beginning of their careers.
A Half-Century of ‘Ayyy’: A Legacy Continues
A day after teaching his class at the Televerse festival, Henry Winkler was on hand to receive a prestigious honor: an induction into the Television Hall of Fame alongside other luminaries such as Viola Davis, Ryan Murphy, and Conan O’Brien. It was a fitting tribute to a career that has spanned five decades and has given the world a gallery of unforgettable characters.
As the entertainment industry continues its fascination with reboots and sequels, from “Tron” to “Clueless,” the question inevitably arises: Would he ever come back as the Fonz? Without missing a beat, Winkler expressed his willingness to return to his most beloved character, but with one condition: “I would do the Fonz retired, absolutely.” Then, dropping into his famed voice, he added a final, perfect punchline that encapsulates his persona and his career: “grandchildren… lot of fun, very difficult, but you get to give ‘em back!”
