Henry Winkler, actor, producer and director, has played many roles since his iconic turn as “The Fonz,” and each time, he said, he finds something new inside with which to bring the most current character to life.
Winkler, 77, said it’s all about the passion and joy he gets from his art and the experiences he’s lived in the 50 years since landing his role in the 1970s sitcom “Happy Days,” which started with six lines, an Italian accent and some imagination and turned into a 10-year run that aired in countries around the world.
“There is life; life completely informs your work as an actor,” Winkler said during a visit Wednesday to Crestavilla, a Laguna Niguel senior living community, where he shared his message of inspiration with a group of local drama students and then with dozens of seniors eager to learn the New York-born actor’s life story.
“You have to be open,” he said. “I enjoyed it, and I’m never bored by it. I do not take it for granted and all of that fuels the wonder of discovery every day.”
Winkler said he knew he wanted to become an actor as soon as he was “old enough to reason,” but didn’t get a lot of support from his parents when he was young. Dyslexia also didn’t make his young life any easier, he said.
Winkler attended Emerson College and went on to study acting at the Yale School of Drama. He joined the Yale Repertory Theater and got his first paying job as an actor in 1970. Later, he joined an improv group, tried out plays on Broadway and then decided it was time to move to Hollywood. His first gig there was on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
When an opportunity for “Happy Days” presented itself, Winkler said he made the most of it by changing his voice and adding some dramatics. When he was done with his audition, he threw the script in the air and left. Two weeks later, he was asked if he wanted the part. He agreed, he said, on the condition that he could play the role of Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli by showing his emotional side.
To create The Fonz, Winkler said he used his imagination as the basis of the character.
“The basis was everybody I wanted to be and who I wasn’t,” Winkler said. “You take the words that are written; like Robin Williams, who would suck the script into his body and then spit it out and Williamize it, and that’s what you do. You churn it up and put it back into the world with your spin, and all of it has to be coded in courage.”
“Your job as an actor is to illuminate the character and illuminate life,” he added.
And, by bringing The Fonz character to life, Winkler became a household name. But, that would also become a problem, he said, explaining that it took seven or eight years before he was cast into a new role.
“I was shocked how popular I was,” he said. “It was beyond the human condition. It was big. I had no idea. I had six lines when I started. All I was doing was doing the best job I could as a professional.”
In his career, Winkler was cast in a series of character roles, including Arthur Himbry in “Scream,” Coach Klein in “The Waterboy,” Barry Zuckerkorn in “Arrested Development,” Eddie R. Lawson in “Royal Pains,” Dr. Saperstein in “Parks and Recreation,” Stanley Yelnats III in “Holes,” Uncle Joe in “The French Dispatch,” Al Pratt in “Black Adam,” and now, most recently, he wrapped up the fourth season of the HBO dark comedy “Barry,” in which he plays acting coach Gene Cousineau.
In 2016, Winkler also became a reality television star on the NBC series “Better Late Than Never.” Winkler’s accolades include a Primetime Emmy, two Daytime Emmys, two Golden Globe Awards and two Critics Choice Awards.
In meeting with each of the two age groups, Winkler did his best to inspire them to be their best selves.
The students, who are opening a production at Aliso Niguel High School on Thursday, hung on his advice. “If it’s not your passion, you’re in the wrong place,” he told them.
“This is an industry of more no’s than yes’s, but you’re a Weeble Wobble, people will say no and you’ll get back up. If you’ve got talent and joy that comes shooting out of your body, somebody will choose you.”
He also said that he believes if “they put ‘Happy Days’ on now at 8 p.m. on a day of the week, children would find it in exactly the same way. It would absolutely bloom again because it’s timeless.”
To the seniors, he said, “There is no right time.
“You’ve talked yourself out of doing something, you’ve said you can’t do it, because you’re too busy, it’s not the right time, you’ve passed it,” he said. “I’m saying to you, all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other and try.”
Winkler said he has treasured each role he’s had and poured his passion into them all. He’s sad to see “Barry ” end, and said he will tremendously miss all who he worked with.
“I love these people so much,” he said. “I am grateful that I get to do what I get to do every day.”
