Henry Winkler said this was why he felt ''frustrated'' playing the Fonz

The actor admitted that he couldn't play one man forever, no matter how cool he was.

CBS Television Distribution

Getting everything you ever wanted isn't actually all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes, when actors achieve a level of fame and stardom that they'd spent years yearning for, they can grow claustrophobic with all the attention on them. It can get pretty small in the box that society has forced upon you, and when audiences grow attached to one character, it can be difficult to convince them to let that go.

Henry Winkler won the role of a lifetime when he began playing the Fonz in Happy Days. Not only was it a role that audiences loved and remembered years later, but it was a role that provided job security.

Happy Days ran for roughly a decade, which meant that Winkler had a guaranteed job for ten years.

However, as Winkler admitted during an interview with The Miami News, there was a time when he felt stifled in the role.

"I have been frustrated by being one character," said Winkler.

However, Winkler knew that acting wasn't just about playing the same person over and over again; it was about developing that character so that they could grow and change like any other person. An expert at his craft, Winkler ensured that the Fonz had grown into a different man than when he began the series.

"Actually, I have taken The Fonz a long way in the five years that I have been playing him. He changes in different ways every year. He's more verbal now; he laughed for the first time last year, and he almost cried in public for the first time in three years."

Developing the Fonz didn't just benefit Winkler; it made the character more human, and more beloved by viewers.

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1 Comments

Coldnorth 5 days ago
The wholesome Cunningham family made Fonzi change his outlook on life. Each member, of that family (except Chuck when he got sent to the corn field) made a huge impression on a friend who became Family. The only thing I didn’t care for is when he would throw himself on the stuffed chair, and boots on the ottoman.
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