‘Happy Days’ actor Henry Winkler dishes on decades-long tension with Tom Hanks

Henry Winkler revealed that he was doing “what [he] thought was [his] job” when he was infamously fired from the Tom Hanks vehicle “Turner & Hooch.”

Winkler had been hired to direct the 1989 comedy by studio exec Jeffrey Katzenberg, he said in a new interview on “In Depth With Graham Bensinger.”

“I now meet the puppies, and I meet with Tom [Hanks]” Winkler said of the dog- and cop-themed movie.

“I, at that time being insecure, I talked too much and I gave them direction,” Winkler added. “I [did] what I thought was my job, and I wanted to do it over again; and apparently that pissed them off.”

Henry Winkler in a green sweater, discussing his beef with Tom Hanks. — Henry Winkler reflected on being fired from the movie “Turner & Hooch” in a new interview, as seen above. In Depth with Graham Bensinge

Tom Hanks attends the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center. — “I talked too much and I gave them direction,” Winkler said of directing “Turner & Hooch,” which starred Hanks, who is seen here in June. Getty Images

While the “Barry” star, now 80, confessed to feeling he wasn’t actually “suited” to direct the screwball comedy, he also admitted to being “devastated” when he was fired after “13 days of filming,” presumably due to tension between himself and the movie’s star.

“I’m called into Jeff Katzenberg’s office and he said, ‘It’s not in the dailies,’” the “Arrested Development” alum recalled.

“I then go to the set. I get my things. I drive home. I’m fired as a director.”

Winkler added that he didn’t “handle it well” at the time.

Elsewhere in the interview, Winkler confirmed that before he was fired, the “Saving Private Ryan” star had gifted him a signed model plane. “While we were having meetings, he built a plastic Piper Cub or something like that,” he divulged.

Henry Winkler in a green sweater. — Winkler confessed to being “devastated” after being fired by studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg at the time. In Depth with Graham Bensinge

Henry Winkler in a pink shirt, green and purple suspenders, and a turquoise tie talks to photographers. — “I [did] what I thought was my job,” Winkler recalled of his 13 days on set. He’s pictured here in August. Be Like Water Media / BACKGRID

But the “Turner & Hooch” incident seemed to have cooled the relationship, with Winkler musing on their shared screen time on a beloved sitcom years prior to the incident.

He noted that “before he was a movie star,” Hanks — now a 70-year-old Oscar winner — “was a guest star on ‘Happy Days’” in 1982. Winkler became a household name for his role as “the Fonz” on the show.

“We did a retrospective of ‘Happy Days,’ and we wanted 60 seconds of Tom Hanks in his episode,” Winkler said, adding that they “did not get permission for that.”

Henry Winkler as Fonzie and Tom Hanks as Randy in the — Hanks and Winkler had previously appeared in “Happy Days” together, as seen above. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Tom Hanks in a white karate gi, Henry Winkler in a gray vest and red tie, and Linda Purl in a floral dress in a bar scene for — Winkler said “sure” when asked if the rift could “repair itself.” Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Winkler told Besinger that he’s “still working on” his “perspective” about their current dynamic. When questioned if the relationship would ever “repair itself,” the actor said simply, “Sure.”

A rep for the “Cast Away” actor did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

But back in 2020, Winkler denied ever having had a rift with the “Forrest Gump” actor. “I don’t have a feud with Tom Hanks,” he told the outlet at the time, via Vanity Fair.

“What everybody says and what is true are two different things.”

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