Henry Winkler Shares Update on Decades-Long Feud With Tom Hanks

Henry Winkler shared an update on the decades-long feud with Tom Hanks — which started when Winkler was fired as the director of the 1989 film Turner & Hooch.

During an interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger published on Sept. 9, Winkler, 80, opened up about how the tension with Hanks, 70, began, and where the actors stand today.

Winkler began by explaining that he accepted the offer to direct Turner & Hooch despite personal reservations. “I went completely against my tummy, and it hit me in the face with a 2×4,” he admitted, adding that he felt he wasn’t “suited” for the film when a Paramount executive tapped him for the job.

“I now meet the puppies, and I meet with Tom,” he continued. “And I, at that time being insecure, I talked too much, and I gave them direction. I [did] what I thought was my job, and I wanted to do it over again. And apparently that pissed them off.”

After just 13 days of filming, Winkler said he was called into studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg‘s office.

“‘It’s not in the dailies,'” Winkler said, of what Katzenberg told him. “I then go to the set. I get my things. I drive home. I’m fired as a director. I don’t handle it well. I’m devastated.”

That’s not the only incident contributing to Winkler and Hanks’ “feud.” They first crossed paths when the latter was a guest star on Happy Days, in which the former played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli.

During his chat with Graham Bensinger, Winkler recalled a perceived slight related to the sitcom, sharing, “We did a retrospective of Happy Days, and we wanted 60 seconds of Tom Hanks in his episode, and we did not get permission for that.”

Bensinger asked Winkler for his “perspective” on his and Hanks’ relationship now, to which the Arrested Development actor admitted, “I am still working on my perspective.” When asked if Winkler thought the feud might “repair itself,” he conceded, “Sure.”

Additionally, Winkler revealed that he still has a signed model plane Hanks built when they worked together on Turner & Hooch. (Before he was fired.)

In addition to Hanks as Detective Scott Turner, Turner & Hooch starred Mare Winningham, Craig T. Nelson, Reginald VelJohnson, John McIntire, and David Knell, among others. A TV series of the same name starring Josh Peck premiered on Disney+ in 2021; it only ran for one season.

Turner & Hooch (both the 1989 film and the series), streaming on Disney+