Henry Winkler had the opportunity to play the iconic role of Danny Zuko in Grease but ultimately chose to turn it down.
“The reason, in my pathetic mind, was that I thought, ‘I’ve been the Fonz for 10 years,’” Winkler, 78, explained during his appearance on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast on Wednesday, October 9.
Referring to his well-known Happy Days character, he continued, “‘Now I’m going to play him again in the movies? I’ll be so typecast, I’ll never work again.’”
Winkler portrayed Fonzie on Happy Days from 1974 to 1984, a role that earned him three Emmy nominations. (He later won his first Emmy in 2018 for Barry.)
Despite the success of his lovable greaser character, Winkler passed on the role of Zuko.
The part eventually went to John Travolta, whose performance became one of his most famous and helped establish him as a leading man in Hollywood. Grease premiered in 1978, ranking second at the box office, just behind Jaws.
“So what happened?” Winkler joked. “I go home, I relax, I have a V8. John Travolta goes home and buys a plane.”
Grease went on to spawn a sequel in 1982, starring Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer, and was later adapted into a Broadway musical.
Winkler’s fear of being typecast wasn’t the only reason for turning down the role—his lack of confidence in his singing ability played a significant part as well.
“I’m not a singer,” he admitted. “My dream is to sing like Lewis Capaldi, Bruno Mars, Bruce Springsteen, or Brandi Carlile. I wish I could take an audience on a journey with my voice. But when I sing, I just watch the audience get up and run for the exit.”
Ripa, however, didn’t entirely believe Winkler’s claim, pointing out that he had shared the stage with legendary singers like Neil Diamond. Winkler explained that while he’s a fan of Diamond, his experience performing with him was a challenge.
Invited to a concert by Diamond, Winkler was surprised when the singer called him up to perform “Song Sung Blue.”
“I’m so dyslexic that I only hear the sound of the song. I actually can’t remember the words,” Winkler confessed. “So as Neil sang, I repeated everything he said in staccato. If he stopped, I’d have been lost.”
