Henry Winkler uses metaphors—about sand—to interpret his life as an actor.
In 1974, the Emmy-nominated star of HBO’s “Barry” gained international notoriety for his role as Fonzie in the hit American sitcom “Happy Days.” While Winkler wears the producer and director hats from time to time, acting is his major love. “Being a producer is like holding sand in your arms: you never stop the drip. Being a director, you try to get all that sand into one box. And as an actor I get to play in the sand,” he discloses during an interview for Backstage’s “In The Envelope” podcast. From Winkler’s perspective, being an actor is the most fun part of the industry; directors and producers often dictate the amount of control one can have.
So Winkler admits that as an actor you have to face directors with whom you disagree. In moments of artistic dissent, he suggests that an actor verbally accept the direction and then do what feels right. “The director will nine times out of 10 [say], ‘See, didn’t I tell you?’ It’s turning a ‘no’ into a ‘yes,’ and you’re saving the director and you’re saving
Leave a Reply