Half a century after first donning the leather jacket as the iconic \u201cFonz\u201d on Happy Days, Henry Winkler is embracing a new role \u2014 mentor to the next generation of performers. At the Television Academy\u2019s first-ever Televerse festival in Los Angeles, the Emmy-winning actor led an acting class, offering real-time critiques to pairs of actors performing scenes before a live audience. His feedback ranged from sharp technical notes such as \u201cstop moving so much\u201d to deeper reminders like \u201cdon\u2019t hide,\u201d underscoring his blend of discipline and encouragement.
The session drew comparisons to Winkler\u2019s acclaimed portrayal of Gene Cousineau, the eccentric acting coach in HBO\u2019s dark comedy Barry. The show, which ran for four seasons and earned ten Emmy Awards, featured Bill Hader as a conflicted hitman who stumbles into Hollywood\u2019s theater scene. Winkler\u2019s turn as Cousineau became one of his most celebrated roles, blending satire with genuine insight into the craft of acting \u2014 an art he now shares in real life.
Speaking to participants and attendees, Winkler emphasized his philosophy of performance, which he summed up in one guiding principle: \u201cYou have to get out of your own way.\u201d The actor, who has navigated decades in television and film, admitted it took him years to embrace this lesson fully. \u201cWhen you finally get out of your own way, it\u2019s like nirvana,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou feel it in every fiber of your being. And you never stop trying.\u201d
Reflecting on his career, Winkler expressed amazement at his longevity in Hollywood, where he has successfully reinvented himself across genres. Beyond Happy Days, his career has spanned horror films like Scream, comedies such as Arrested Development and Parks and Recreation, and his acclaimed return to prestige television in Barry. \u201cIt is a shock that I have been doing this here in Hollywood for 50 years,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you learn a few things along the way.\u201d
For Winkler, teaching is more than a side pursuit \u2014 it\u2019s one of his favorite ways to stay connected to the craft that has defined his life. As he continues to balance his acting work with mentorship, the star who once symbolized cool for a generation is now shaping the future of the profession, leaving an impact as lasting as his signature thumbs-up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Half a century after first donning the leather jacket as the iconic \u201cFonz\u201d on Happy Days, Henry Winkler is embracing a new role \u2014 mentor to the next generation of performers. At the Television Academy\u2019s first-ever Televerse festival in Los Angeles, the Emmy-winning actor led an acting class, offering real-time critiques to pairs of actors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/images-2025-08-26T133221.900.jpeg?fit=415%2C739&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17185,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17184\/revisions\/17185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}