Interview with Henry Winkler

Though Henry Winkler is perhaps best known for playing Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli in the television series, Happy Days, he has also appeared in dozens of other film and television roles. TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Ellen Stodola talked to Winkler about his next film, a comedy called Here Comes the Boom, as well as his recent honor of receiving an OBE award from the Queen of England.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: You recently received an OBE (Order of the British Empire) medal for your work with children’s charities. How did your own problems with dyslexia inspire you to first become involved with the working with children’s charities? And what was it that really made you start your My Way! Campaign and have everything come together at this time?

Henry Winkler: The thing about dyslexia is that you never outgrow it; you just learn to negotiate it. It’s been a part of my everyday life for some time now. The campaign started about a year ago at 10 Downing Street in England. And the campaign was really influenced by the book series that Lin Oliver and I write. It’s about a little boy, Hank Zipzer, who has dyslexia, and he’s a very imaginative boy. The series is also very popular in England, and I go on tour there for the books.

I was touring with First News, which is a newspaper for children, and they had the idea to start the My Way! Campaign. Since each child learns in their own way, one of the great difficulties is that a teacher has a class of 30 or 40 children and must teach the same amount of material to the accelerated student as well as the student who struggles. The student wants to do well, but it’s a challenge. It’s easier to standardize the student body and maybe even less expensive than it is to understand that just a tweak in the curriculum would include everybody who learns in their own way.

TCC: And how did it feel and what was your reaction to getting this honor?

HW: I got a letter in the mail and they said that the Queen has graciously agreed to confer this award on me. I’m one of four people outside of Britain this year to get the award. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected this. It came as a complete surprise, and I’m so honored.

TCC: You’ve been working in film and television for many decades. How have you sort of had to adapt over time and how has your experience helped you to survive in the business?

HW: June 30, 1970 was when I first started. I graduated from the Yale school of drama and I was part of a repertoire theater. I think that the key is to really prepare yourself and train. I used to have this image of being a forest ranger and my career was a baby pine tree and my job was to keep it grow for the next 75 years and keep it healthy and strong. You also have to believe that you’re relevant in the business because this belief in yourself is a key factor in a career.

TCC: You played potentially one of the most iconic roles, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, from Happy Days and you played this role for an extremely long time. How did this impact your career and how did it influence future projects that you chose to become involved in?

HW: So, I’ve recently started using Twitter. Three weeks ago I started to use Twitter, and since then, I’ve gotten tweets from all around the world. From Norway, Finland, Korea, and there’s not a human being who doesn’t say “Oh my gosh, I grew up watching that show.” It truly is the very foundation for the rest of my creative life. I get to do so many things, and I don’t know if I would have gotten the opportunity if it weren’t for the Fonz and Happy Days.

TCC: You’re about to start working on Here Comes the Boom with Kevin James and Salma Hayek. What made you decide to become involved with this film?

HW: It was very simple actually. I went to Adam Sandler’s star ceremony on Hollywood Boulevard. Adam asked me to say a few words and Kevin James said a few words. We then had a delicious buffet. That afternoon, Kevin James called me on the telephone and said, “Didn’t we have a good time?” And he asked me to be in his film and I agreed. It came as a major surprise. Since I’m not very musical, I’ve recently been taking guitar lessons and learning rap to prepare for the role.

TCC: Tell me about the film. I know you play a teacher as does Kevin James. What attracted you to the role and how do you identify with your character?

HW: This film is really a buddy, romantic comedy. I’m a music teacher and my program is being cut. Kevin is a slacker as a teacher, but for some reason, he’s moved and decides to try to save the program, and he does it in an unbelievably unique and dangerous way.

TCC: You’ve worked with director Frank Coraci before.

HW: What Frank has is a wonderful sense of humor. He knows the technology, and he also has an overview, an understanding of human nature and a warmth. As a director you’re the parent, the tyrant, the disciplinarian, and the mediator. He sees each person on the set as an individual to bring the best out of everybody. My metaphor is: as a producer, it’s like holding sand in your arms. As a director, you try to get a hundred people and all that sand into one box. And as an actor, I get to play in the sand.

TCC: You have a lot of films and television shows lined up right now, how do you balance all of these projects and how do you decide which projects you want to be involved with?

HW: The thing about my television shows is that they shoot at different times. One shoots from December to February and one shoots from April to October. I’ll admit, I’m sometimes overwhelmed because it’s a lot to work into a schedule. And then I also go to England for the Hank Zipzer book tour. And I’m beginning to film my next movie at the end of this month while I’m on a break.

TCC: I noticed that you’ve done a lot of comedic roles with like Royal Pains, Arrested Development, Click, and now your upcoming film, Here Comes the Boom. Do you prefer comedy over more dramatic roles or does it really just depend on the series or movie?

HW: No, I don’t pick comedy or drama. I see the roles as a blue plate special. There’s always a combo in a role. There’s a comedy, but there’s also a spice of emotion.

TCC: I know that you’re planning to film the next season of Royal Pains after Here Comes the Boom. Do you have any plans after that or are you looking for any specific projects in particular?

HW: I just want to continually have the great time that I’m having at the moment. Lin Oliver and I just finished a brand new novel for a brand new series. This spring, a book of photographs that I took while fly fishing for trout is coming out. And I also do this wonderful comedy called Children’s Hospital—it is the wackiest thing I’ve ever done in my life.