We are shook, we tell you! Shook!
Henry Winkler is one of the coolest, nicest guys in Tinseltown. The Happy Days alum is always smiling, always expressing gratitude, just all around super amicable.
But even cool guys sometimes lose their chill!
And apparently this was the case back in the ’80s when a rift between the Barry actor and Tom Hanks resulted in him getting FIRED from production!
Henry went on In Depth With Graham Bensinger this week to discuss his life and career. Lots of really wonderful pearls of wisdom and entertaining anecdotes in the full episode, to be sure. But it’s him opening up about his rocky road with Tom that has everyone’s ear to the wall!
Related: Longtime Feuding Foes Bury The Hatchet
He says he was shopping in the original Barney’s department store when a phone call comes in for him. It’s Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the biggest executives in Hollywood at the time, and he wants to offer the Fonz a chance to direct Turner & Hooch.
Henry says he expressed he would have preferred to direct Stella, but Jeffrey was adamant Henry should be the one to helm Turner & Hooch.
“I thought, okay, here is a lesson. When your instinct says, ‘uh oh, danger, warning sign,’ you do not question your tummy. You can question your brain, but never your tummy.”
Unfortunately, it can be hard to follow your tummy when a Hollywood juggernaut says you’re the man for the job, so Henry ultimately did not listen to his instincts. He explained:
“I went completely against my tummy, and it hit me in the face with a 2×4. I now meet the puppies, and I meet with Tom [Hanks] and we audition women together, and he settles on Mare Winningham, who’s a very good actress actually, and everybody else, but he has a connection, an electricity with Mare. And I guess, at that time being insecure, I talked too much and I gave them direction — what I thought was my job — and I wanted to do it over again and apparently that pissed them off.”
Damn, that sucks.
Henry was a big draw at the time, but Tom’s star was rising as a super bankable comedy star. So ultimately, it would seem, Tom’s feelings on the matter won out. Henry describes what happened next:
“And in 13 days of filming, I’m called into Jeff Katzenberg’s office, and he said, ‘It’s not in the dailies.’ I then go to the set, I get my things, I drive home, I’m fired as a director. I don’t handle it well. I’m devastated.”
Oof.
When asked if there’s a chance the relationship could be repaired, Henry sincerely replies, “Sure!” And we believe him. We’d like to think if he and Tom ever cross paths again that things could smooth over. After all, we just heard about two longtime feuding actresses making amends, so it’s not impossible!
Watch Henry talk more about it:
And for more anecdotes, check out the rest of episode (below):
Wishing Henry nothing but the best. We could see how hard it was for him to open up about that dark time in his career. Hopefully he knows how much joy he brings audiences. He’s universally beloved, and it’s okay if those who adore him don’t include another universally beloved actor.
