Henry Winkler (‘Barry’) regretted turning down the role of Danny Zuko in ‘Grease’

Many times actors and actresses decide not to accept a role out of fear. There are many occasions when names are heard that could have been certain characters that we are now unable to separate from the actors and actresses who played them. Now it’s hard to think that the leading couple in La La Land were Emma Watson and Miles Teller, or that Emily Blunt was Black Widow instead of Scarlett Johansson, or Ethan Hawke as Doctor Strange. Now an actor has been known who could have been the protagonist of ‘Grease’. Already, it is impossible to think of anyone other than John Travolta to be Danny.

That was the case with Henry Winkler. The actor is a television icon thanks to ‘Happy Days’ and an Emmy Award winner thanks to ‘Barry,’ but that doesn’t mean his successful acting career is without regrets. There is a role that escaped him and that still hurts Winkler: it was that of Danny Zuko in ‘Grease’. In a recent interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace, Winkler revealed that he turned down an offer to play the lead in ‘Grease,’ a role that would later make Travolta a major movie star.. The “Grease” offer came during a time of professional crisis for Winkler.

“It was such a bad time that not only couldn’t I find a job, but I was sitting at my desk at Paramount and literally thinking, ‘Am I ever going to find something with as much impact as the Fonz?'” Winkler said. “How will I know? Will anyone ever ask me? I’m not getting any offers.”

Henry Winkler is a television icon thanks to the television series ‘Happy Days’, broadcast during the 70s in the United Statesand an Emmy Award winner for “Barry,” but that doesn’t mean his successful acting career is without regrets. There’s a role that got away and Winkler still stings: Danny Zuko in “Grease”. In a recent interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace, Winkler revealed that he turned down an offer to play the lead in “Grease,” a role that would make John Travolta a huge movie star. The “Grease” offer came during a time of professional crisis for Winkler.

“It was so bad that not only couldn’t I find a job, but I was sitting at my desk at Paramount and literally thinking, ‘Am I ever going to find something as impactful as the character Fonz (his character in ‘Happy Days’)?'” Winkler claimed. “How will I know? Will anyone ever ask me? I’m not getting any offers.”

He was then offered the role of Danny Zuko’s ‘Grease,’ but the character’s similarities to Fonz made Winkler nervous about being typecast.. Little did Winkler realize at the time that Fonz was so iconic that he was going to be typecast regardless of whether he accepted ‘Grease’ or not.

“Yes. I am,” Winkler said when asked by Wallace if he was a “fucking jerk” for turning down the role of “Grease.” “It only dawned on me years later…I thought, ‘I’ve played Fonz. I don’t want to do it again, but it already happened, I’m already pigeonholed. I should have shut up and had a great time making that movie.“Winkler continued. “Now, I go home, say no, and have a Diet Coke. John Travolta goes home, he’s made the movie and he buys a plane,” the actor joked.

Winkler played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli in all 11 seasons of ‘Happy Days’, the original title of the legendary series. He currently stars with Bill Harder in ‘Barry’, the HBO series, which will return for a fourth season.