789 | Henry Winkler on the Fonz, Fly Fishing, Happy Days and Barry – Episode 334 Re-release

Dave (2s): Coming up next on the Web Fly Swing podcast. Henry (6s): Well, happy days. You know, happy Days was not only just a, a show for me, it introduced me to the world. You know, I got 55,000 letters a week from all over the world. No matter where I go, people invite me to their homes, invite me for dinner. It just, the warmth is exceptional. It is an honor, actually, that so many people who have such different traditions, such different languages, and yet we all have the fawns in common. Dave (48s): That was Henry Winkler describing the impact of playing the fawns on the TV show. Happy Days. One of the best, not a heck of a lot more I can say about that. Henry Winkler today on the wet fly, swing fly fishing show. Intro (1m 3s): Welcome to the Wet Fly, swing fly fishing show where you discover tips, tricks, and tools from the leading names in fly fishing today. Dave (1m 13s): Hey, have you been noticing the last few months I’ve been practicing my, my a This has been, this has been going on. I’ve been, you could check back in the previous episodes and, and hear my progress in this subtle hint that we are having. This, this episode was on its way today, and we are finally here to share it. So I never really nailed the, the A, but I’ve got the man himself on the show today. Henry Winkler has been a TV and movie icon for my entire life, and is here now to sit down and chat about fly fishing and that life. Dave (1m 52s): We find out what it felt like to get offered the, the movie Grease and why he turned it down, how he got the role in the HBO show Barry and, and how he’s done all this, including get out and do some fly fishing with being challenged by dyslexia over his life. This one is good. I’m very, very happy to share this episode with you today. So, without further ado, here he is, Henry Winkler. How’s it going today, Henry? Henry (2m 24s): I am sitting here eating time, counting the days until I get to go fly fishing in Idaho. Dave (2m 35s): There you go. There you go. I’ve heard that Idaho is the place, is that where you like to go? Is is Idaho your place? Henry (2m 41s): We, we went to Montana for 20 years. We have been to Wyoming. I’ve been to Argentina. Holy mackerel. That is, that was an adventure. But mostly now for the past 10 years, we have gone to Swan Valley in Idaho. Dave (3m 8s): Mm. Swan Valley. Okay. And I haven’t been there yet, but I wanna dig into a little bit on your, a little more on the fishing background. I want to hear. So we, I always like to take it back to how you first got into it. So I’m curious to hear if your story of getting into fly fishing is similar to some of our other guests we’ve had on. So can you take us back there? Henry (3m 25s): Okay. I have always thought I could not fly fish. That it takes a hand eye coordination and a ballet of hand rod and line that I just would not be able to master. And so I just said no. For the longest time I had a lawyer, and his name was Skip Brinham iii, who has won one fly many times. Oh, Dave (3m 60s): Yep. Henry (4m 1s): And his wife, a wonderful actress, Heather Thomas, has also won one fly. And Skip said, you know what? I’m taking you and Stacy down the Smith River in Montana. I said, oh no, trust me. Just, you’ll just go, we go down the river, there is a boat ahead of us with a crew. They set up tents, make a meal. We pull in, we have the meal. We either have lunch, get back in the boat, go. Henry (4m 44s): They’re now building the night camp. I caught one fish and I was hooked, no pun intended. There you Dave (4m 56s): Go. So that’s it. So you did a, so your first trip out was a, a river trip, like a full deal? Henry (5m 2s): It was a full deal. And, you know, my, my coordination and my style is ugly, but I get the face. Dave (5m 14s): Yep. What, what is the most challenging thing for fly fishing for you? What is the one tricky thing? Henry (5m 20s): Double hauling? Yeah. I would have to say I have never, and I have been fishing since 1986. I have never double hauled. The second thing is the rules, the seven things you need to do in order to place your fly in the place you need it, and mend and strip and watch and strike. Dave (6m 1s): Yeah. Henry (6m 3s): That is the second most difficult thing for me because I get so ka bluey in my head that I’m casting and I’m thinking it’s just beautiful. And it lands in a lump, in a clump on the surface. And I go, well, that’s not going to get me anything. Dave (6m 27s): Yep. And sometimes that works, though. That’s a great thing. Sometimes the the bad cast can work. Right. You’ve probably had that happen. Henry (6m 34s): You know, I don’t know that I’ve ever had that experience that my bad cast is just bad. Yeah. But when I do get it all together and I’m in the place and the fin is out of the water against the bank in shallow water, quite a ways away, and I get it. Oh my goodness. It’s just like nirvana. Dave (7m 5s): That’s amazing. How does that compare getting that fish you just talked about right there to getting that next big acting role you’ve had maybe in the past? I mean, you’ve had some major roles, right? Henry (7m 15s): Well, you know what? I’m very lucky in that way. I’ll tell you what is the truth about both fly fishing and, and my profession. You cannot take for granted one minute of being in the process. All Dave (7m 34s): Right? Henry (7m 36s): You cannot just do it haphazardly. You will miss the fish, you’ll miss the spot. And the same thing about getting the role. They, you don’t present yourself in the most perfect manner, and there is no perfection in order for them to take notice of you either as a fly or as an actor. Dave (8m 9s): Is it for you, I’ve always thought struggles that I’ve had along the way with what I, what, you know what I do, but is it the journey, is that the thing that you really love with the, whether that’s acting or fly fishing? Do you think about that as like, there’s no end point for you what you do on either? Henry (8m 23s): There is no end point. There is no end point. That is true. I, I never thought of it that way, but that is true. Dave (8m 31s): Yeah. Henry (8m 32s): I love, I’m already packed for June 12th. Dave (8m 39s): Oh yeah. Henry (8m 41s): My waiters, my boots, my underwear, my soap, my reels. They’re all packed. Dave (8m 50s): That is cool. Yeah. That is cool. You’re ready to go. Henry (8m 54s): I, I just cannot wait. Dave (8m 58s): Yep. And is this trip, is this kind of an annual trip you do? This is like, Henry (9m 2s): It is with my wife, who is a very good fisherwoman. Oh, wow. Now she, she goes fishing. We leave pretty much the same time. There are times when I report to the pickup spot and tell her guide, lucky you, you’ve got the day off. She will get off the river early and then get a blizzard, you know? Oh, Dave (9m 35s): Yeah. From a dairy queen or whatever. Dairy Henry (9m 38s): Queen. Yeah. But she, you know, she does it her way and enjoys it her way. Dave (9m 48s): Yeah. Henry (9m 49s): And she gets her fish too. Dave (9m 51s): There you go. There you go. Everybody has their own way to, you know, that’s the great thing about fly fishing. Everybody, everybody has their own thing that they love about fly fishing. Right. Maybe, Henry (9m 59s): You know, do you know what I tell people? I just had this discussion with a young couple, they’re both young doctors and they’re going to somewhere maybe to a dude ranch or somewhere, and I said, oh, do they have fishing? And they said, yeah, we were thinking of trying it. I said, no, don’t think about it. You’ve got to go. You’ve got to go. And while you’re concentrating so hard on your fly, don’t forget to look up because your eyes will pop out of your head on where you are. Dave (10m 40s): Yeah, that is totally, yeah. No, I, and I think about, you know, with fly fishing, so for you, there’s, there’s nipping, there’s dry fly fishing, there’s all sorts of different types. Is there one type of fishing you like? Do you like to get ’em on the surface? Or do you, do you care? Henry (10m 53s): You know, I did not for the longest time think I was good enough, or that I was capable of fishing with a dry fly. So I would be very happy, nim. And then one day, I guess my mind grew up and I started to dry fly. And I was successful at it. And I thought, wow, this is fabulous. Dave (11m 27s): That’s cool. That’s cool. You, you have taken that next level. A lot of people, some people, they don’t ever get there. Right. They, they ’cause dryly is challenging. Right. Getting the fly just perfectly matching the hatch. And it is. But you’ve had success. Henry (11m 40s): I have had success, you know, and I’m very willing, from nine o’clock in the morning until four 30 in the afternoon to cast right through lunch, I rather cast than eat. Then I realized, oh, we have to stop for lunch because the guide probably is hungry. Dave (12m 2s): Yeah. Henry (12m 4s): Which really pisses me off. Dave (12m 5s): There you go. Henry (12m 7s): And I give him my fruit, my cookie, and we’re back at it. Dave (12m 14s): That’s it. There’s a good tip for your next guide to remember that, because I’ve done some guiding as well. Not much. It was, it’s challenging. Guiding is hard. Henry (12m 21s): Oh, I don’t know how they Dave (12m 22s): Do it. It’s hard. But the good thing about it’s, there are people that are just born for guiding and they love it and they’re great at it. And those are the people I’m sure that you’ve probably worked with some of the best. Right. Henry (12m 31s): I have had amazing guides and they have all my respect. First of all, I think to myself, they are pulling that boat all day long. They’re watching me not think about where my cast is going. They are watching the fly, watching the rocks, watching the flow, watching the fly, telling me when to strike. I, they are extraordinary human beings. Yeah. Dave (13m 11s): Yep. Henry (13m 12s): I put them in the same category, even though the level of, of difficulty is not the same, like with firemen. Dave (13m 22s): Oh yeah. Henry (13m 24s): They take such good care of you and they get so excited when you catch the fish and then they know where the fish are. Right. And there are sometimes I’m looking, you know, I fish by myself in the boat. Dave (13m 40s): Oh yeah. Henry (13m 41s): Because I went with my wife. She was in the front, I was in the back. And of course your listeners know that there’s a rule in front of the os all the way up the river is hers. Yeah. Behind the os, all the way down the river is mine. Yeah. But if I see water that looks fishy, that is calling to me and it is above the o, I’m in it. And rather than argue, we meet for lunch. Dave (14m 19s): There you go. There you go. I love it. So you’re gonna have, you’re gonna have lunch. That’s part of the part of the gig. This is Henry. This is amazing because for a number of reasons, fly fishing brings everybody together who listens to this show. Which is the reason why people come here to learn from some of the best and hear about some of the names of people who love fly fishing. But everybody is diverse and everybody does a bunch of different things. Right. They love all sorts of other things on top of fly fishing. And one thing I wanna dig in with you a little bit here is on just briefly on some of the acting that you’ve done, and not really to dig into that, but just because it, some stuff resonated with me. And one of them was obviously happy days. Right? Everybody knows you from Happy Days. When I was a Kid, happy Days was probably the biggest show. Right. I’ve, I’ve seen every episode. Dave (15m 0s): But you’ve done so much after Happy Days. Right. So much after. And you’ve even gone to this point where you’ve written these children’s books, which speak to me big time because I’ve had that issue. Henry (15m 10s): Lynn Oliver and I have written 39 novels Dave (15m 14s): Wow. Henry (15m 14s): For children. And one adult book, which is for fly fishing. Everything that I learned about life from fly fishing. And then it was supposed to be a book of photographs Oh. That I took. Dave (15m 38s): Yep. Henry (15m 38s): And, and it turned into kind of like a memoir. Dave (15m 43s): Yeah, that’s right. So talk about that. Describe that. For somebody who hasn’t read that book, what could they expect to, can they get a glimpse into more than just fly fishing? Is this like into your life? Henry (15m 54s): Oh my goodness. I think so. I think I cover being a parent, being a professional, how important fly fishing is to me. I, I think about it when I’m not on the water all the time. Wow. And sometimes I have to distract myself because I am just so frustrated that I’m not there. Dave (16m 21s): Yeah. So why not just, here’s a, maybe an obvious question that I would think about is like, why not just retire all together from do and just fish a hundred percent of the time? Henry (16m 32s): Because look what I’m doing. I’m doing a show called Barry. Dave (16m 36s): I know. Henry (16m 37s): I just won the Emmy for the character. It is one of the great characters of my career. Yeah. I’m 76 years old and I’m still living my dream on the stage and on the water. Why would I retire? Dave (16m 55s): That’s perfect. No, and that is a pretty obvious question. ’cause the stuff you’ve done in acting, I mean, like I said, you starting out with happiness ’cause everybody that knows you from that, but everything since then. Henry (17m 6s): Well, you know what? It really depends on the age. You can always tell what generation people are from the Water Boy. Dave (17m 14s): Yeah. Henry (17m 15s): Scream. Yep. Arrested Development. The Parks and Rec. Dave (17m 21s): Yep. Henry (17m 22s): All of it. Dave (17m 23s): MacGyver. Henry (17m 24s): MacGyver. Well, that was the first show I ever really produced. And I produced it because I couldn’t get hired as an actor. Dave (17m 31s): That’s one point I wanna touch on because I wanna go back to the fly fishing. But tell me, and I know you’ve talked about this before, but I, this is really interesting to me. You know, again, you go back to how, and I remember all your roles I every show you talked about, I’ve seen, you know what I mean? I’ve seen ’em all, but Right. You ha Happy Days Ends and, and talk. Bring us to that moment really quick just to talk about that. Because since then you’ve gone on and done so much more. Right. But that was a turning point in your career. What Henry (17m 56s): Happy days? Dave (17m 56s): Yeah. After Happy Days. Well, Henry (17m 57s): Happy Days, you know, happy Days was not only just a, a show for me, it introduced me to the world. You know, I got 55,000 letters a week. Wow. From all over the world. No matter where I go, people invite me to their homes, invite me for dinner. It just, the warmth is exceptional. It is an honor actually that so many people who have such different traditions, such different languages. And yet we all have the fas in common. Dave (18m 40s): Yep. Henry (18m 41s): It’s fantastic. Wow. Dave (18m 43s): Can you talk a little bit about, was that Fas that character you created? Was that, how much of that was just from your ability to create a character on, you know? Henry (18m 52s): Well, you know, they write the, the writers Yeah. Write the character. They write stories during the week. ’cause we rehearsed from Monday to Friday and then shine at Friday night in front of a live audience. Dave (19m 7s): Oh wow. Yeah. Henry (19m 8s): So during the week you would have talks with your producers and say, this joke isn’t working, this, oh. You know, they would say, you’re not, you’re not seeing this. You didn’t put this into the scene. This kind of emotion or this thought. And so it’s very collaborative. But when we would do it in front of a live audience, stuff would come out of me that I never planned, never rehearsed, just there it was. Dave (19m 44s): That’s it. And then from, and just take us there a little bit on the, on the timeline. So after Happy Days Ends, Henry (19m 50s): Now I didn’t have a job. Now I had an office at Paramount and no one would hire me because I was funny, really easy to work with. But I was the fawns now scream. They would not put my, my name on the movie. Oh wow. They would not put my name on the poster. They thought, well, he’s the fawns, he’s gonna knock the balance of terror. Right, right. So now they show the movie, you know, they, they assemble it. They put in temp music, temporary music, and then they show it to an audience, let’s say in San Diego in Missouri. Henry (20m 39s): And when my character came on the screen, I got applause. So then they came back to me and they said, would you do press for the movie? Now? Of course it’s, my friend directed it. I said, of course I would. But I went from, they would not even associate with me to now they want me to go out and do press. Dave (21m 4s): There you go, there you go. And then it just kept, you just kept, you know, moving forward from there with all sorts of, Henry (21m 10s): You have to, you know, that’s another thing I learned from fly fishing is enormous patience. Because not everything comes on the heels of the next thing. You wait, you, you audition, you pray, you hope, you schmooze. And then, you know, so now I’ve done a lot of stuff, but in the, in the time span of 45 years, you know, so there was a period there of eight years where I didn’t work as an actor. Henry (21m 56s): And then I became a producer out of necessity. I became a children’s book writer out of necessity. Somebody said, well, you know, ju until you get hired, write a book. And then we wrote 39. Dave (22m 13s): Wow. And when did the fly fishing book come into that picture? Henry (22m 17s): Okay. That’s a good question. I am going to cheat. Dave (22m 20s): Yeah. Henry (22m 21s): And I’m gonna look at the date because I literally don’t remember. 2011. Dave (22m 37s): Oh wow. Yeah. There you go. So, so 10 years ago and you started fly fishing, roughly be well how long before that? I’m not sure If you have that. Henry (22m 45s): 1986. Dave (22m 46s): Yeah, that’s right. 86. So yeah. So you had with a good time. So yeah, you had some skills in fly fishing by the time you wrote that book. And how did that feel that when you got that book out there, when you were completed that, did it feel, Henry (22m 57s): It felt great. Dave (22m 58s): Yeah, Henry (22m 59s): It felt great. It really did. Dave (23m 2s): And did you write, I know one of your, your struggles has been, you’ve talked, like with the, the children’s books, the zip, the Henry (23m 8s): Hank Zipzer, Hank Dave (23m 9s): Zipzer, Henry (23m 10s): There’s Ghost Buddy, alien Superstar. Dave (23m 15s): Yeah. Describe it just quickly, what the premise is of, of those books. Who are, who is the target for those? Henry (23m 21s): Well, this is Hank Zipzer in the second grade, and we use a font that makes it easier for the I to make friends with the page. Dave (23m 37s): Oh. Henry (23m 39s): And we are the first ones to use that font. So he’s in the second grade, he doesn’t know yet that he’s got a learning challenge. All he knows is the frustration of not getting anything. Right. Then there is Hank Zipzer, he’s in the fourth grade and he finds out that he’s got something with a name. He’s resourceful. All of these books are funny. First we write books to make children laugh. And then they happen to be about a kid who’s got, you know, one out of five, one out of six children on the earth has a learning challenge. Henry (24m 21s): Yeah. And it’s sary. Dave (24m 24s): Yep. And that’s why it resonates so well with me. And I know you had that same challenge, you know, with dyslexia Right. Throughout your life. Still, still, Henry (24m 33s): You never get over dyslexia. You learn to negotiate. Right. Dave (24m 38s): Yeah. So, and that’s a great question. ’cause I always talk about this struggle I had with reading as well. That’s why this resonates with me all the way through school. I could read, but I just wasn’t a great reader all the way up until college. Yeah. And it took me college and finally through college, something snapped. And I, and now I’m fine. Yeah. But it took me my whole life to get to that point. And, but, and that’s what I love. This is amazing. I Henry (24m 57s): Understand. You know, it’s the wiring in the brain. You know, a child is disruptive or moves all the time, you know, they bounce. Yeah. So their leg bounces and everything. And it’s not like they’re doing it on purpose to make life difficult for you. It is the wiring in their brain. It doesn’t compute. They can’t spell, I can’t spell. Look, I’ve got a word like schedule. Dave (25m 29s): Yeah. Henry (25m 30s): Right. I have it taped just above the computer because I use it all the time. And after all this time, I cannot just sound the tenacity. I can’t sound it out. So I have it, you know, you, you figure out how to make your life easier. Dave (25m 49s): Yep. That’s it. So when you’re on the river, you’re on these fly fishing, does all that disappear? Henry (25m 56s): No, because the putting together all of the steps of making the perfect cast, making sure there’s nothing on your hook all the way down. You know, you forget or Oh. Right. Dave (26m 14s): You Henry (26m 14s): Can’t, you know, you can’t put it in, in order or, you know, just, and so you, you figure it out. Dave (26m 24s): You figure it out. Yeah. And that’s, that’s it. And, and I’ve been skunk, to be honest, I’ve been skunk plenty of times on fishing trips. Right. So a lot of the great thing about fishing is it’s just, like you said earlier, it’s about being outdoors. Even If you’re not catching a lot of fish sometimes. Just that experience. Henry (26m 37s): Oh my goodness. That’s why I say one of the most important parts of, of fly fishing is looking up Yeah. And seeing where you are. Yeah. Because it is breathtaking. Dave (26m 52s): Yeah. Henry (26m 53s): It’s matter of fact, I think everybody should go fly fishing and, and maybe this country would calm down a little bit. Dave (27m 1s): I hear ya. I hear ya. Yeah. That’s exactly what we need. If we get everybody on the water. Fly fishing. Do you have a, do you have a fly pattern that you’ve, you’ve done well on that you’ve caught some fish on? Henry (27m 14s): I went, this is Maisie. Hi Ma. Macy Maisie. Oh, Dave (27m 19s): Maisie. Henry (27m 20s): She’s two. Dave (27m 21s): Nice. She’s a, what is she? Henry (27m 23s): She is a golden doodle. Dave (27m 25s): Oh, a golden doodle. Henry (27m 26s): Nice. And you’re a good girl. Orange. But I went to this incredible resort in Tennessee and I took my wife ’cause she always wanted to go there. And it’s called Blackberry Farm. And on the property of Blackberry Farm, they have a beautiful stream with trout. And the, the fish master there, the guy who was in charge of the river made me a pattern called the Winkler. Nice. Which is really like a little mayfly. Dave (28m 6s): Yeah. Henry (28m 6s): But I was so proud that I had a fly with my name and I’m almost out. But I have used it and it’s pretty successful. But you boy, you I, Dave (28m 19s): There Henry (28m 19s): It is. You gotta have x-ray vision. Dave (28m 21s): Yeah. Henry (28m 22s): Holy man. Where is it again? Dave (28m 25s): Exactly? Henry (28m 26s): Do you see it? Because I, oh, there, it’s alright. Then you have to dry it off. Put it back. Dave (28m 33s): Yeah. Yeah. That’s right. That’s right. No, that’s cool. I think that’s, that’s one of the struggles is you can see me, I didn’t wear glasses a couple years ago and now I wear glasses all the time and it’s a struggle for, you know, but we, we deal with it. Right. Henry (28m 45s): You bet. I didn’t wear glasses and I got the, the fly in my cheek. Ooh. Then the man said, oh, don’t worry about it. I’m gonna take a piece of lime and I’m just gonna pull it out. And none of that sounded right or comfortable. No. But it worked like a charm because I go barbless. So thank God. Oh wow. You know, it just came right out. He, he pulled it with a piece of line and it, Dave (29m 15s): Wow. There you go. That’s a good guide. There’s another guide tip for you. What, what do you have on tap? Do you have, you’re going to Idaho as you look out, do you have other places, kind of the like bucket list places you wanna go to? Henry (29m 28s): Here’s the great thing about being a celebrity. You get calls. Hey, how about if I outfit you? You can bring somebody with you and I’ll take you for 10 days to New Zealand. Dave (29m 42s): Wow. Henry (29m 44s): I will, I’ve heard that. New Zealand is great fishing now, unfortunately, we went in April and the best time to go I think is December, January. But there I was, I got a beautiful rod. I got clothes, I got sunglasses, I got a reel. And I caught three fish in 10 days. Dave (30m 7s): There you go. Henry (30m 8s): But I remember those fish and I gave them names and we correspond Dave (30m 14s): And it was New Zealand and you went to New Zealand. Henry (30m 17s): New Zealand. Dave (30m 18s): Which is, which is, I think most people would love to go to New Zealand if they love fly fishing. Henry (30m 22s): But I would go to to Argentina first. Yeah. Oh my God. There are two guys from Montana. The PGAI think it is. Or PGR Patagonia River. PG Oh yeah, yeah. Patagonia River Guides. Dave (30m 46s): Yeah. Henry (30m 46s): Two guys from Montana who’ve made friends with the gauchos. Dave (30m 51s): Hmm. Yep. Henry (30m 52s): And they get access to private land. Wow. Dave (30m 58s): Yeah. Henry (30m 58s): You could the fish, some of the fish I caught, I could ride back to la. Dave (31m 4s): Wow. These are sea run. Yeah. These are probably the sea run trout. I know. I haven’t been there yet, but I know it’s one of, it’s on my bucket list for sure. Henry (31m 13s): I’ll tell you. But those two guys, I mean, it really is to the nines. Dave (31m 18s): Yeah. Henry (31m 19s): They treat you well. You just, I think, and maybe they, maybe it’s different now, but you have to get your wine at the airport. Dave (31m 27s): Hmm. Okay. Henry (31m 28s): You have to buy your own wine. And there was Australian wine and Oh, it was just Dave (31m 36s): All Henry (31m 36s): Good. Yeah. And I don’t drink, but the men I was with Skip Bri. And the third took me, skip was my lawyer. Your Dave (31m 44s): Lawyer. That’s right. Henry (31m 45s): Who is a master fly fisherman. Dave (31m 47s): There you go. There you go. That’s, that’s cool. Yeah. That’s, that’s awesome. All right, so we got a little, you know, I was just kinda thinking, you know, Argentina is the topic that always comes up. Take us back really quick ’cause you had a couple more things that have been really big and things that I have heard about and watched, but, so we’re going back in time again. Greece, one of my favorite movies of all time Greece. Talk about that. How, how you Henry (32m 8s): They came to me because I was very popular as Fonzi, and they asked me to play Danny Zuko. Oh wow. I thought to myself, well, I don’t want to be typecast and I’ve just played Danny Zuko for 10 years. Yeah. So I said no. So I went home, poured myself a V eight. John Travolta said yes. He went home and bought a plane. So, Dave (32m 40s): Wow. Henry (32m 41s): You know, I mean, if I were to look back again, would I have done it? I would’ve tried. The only thing is I can’t sing. Really? Dave (32m 48s): Oh, what about dance? Henry (32m 50s): Dance? I, I’m a good dancer now. I dance from the waist up, but at the time I could use my whole body. Dave (32m 57s): Oh yeah. Henry (32m 58s): You know, now I have a negotiation with my knees when we get out of bed. I said, I’m ready. Are you guys, just let me know anytime you wanna make a move. Dave (33m 10s): Yeah, that’s right. That’s right. What about, so, so I wanna, I don’t wanna leave Barry on the table either you mentioned earlier, but talk about how that role comes to you, because that’s, this is a powerful, powerful Henry (33m 21s): Well, you know, sometimes there’s a God who’s looking down on you. Stacey and I just left a, an estate planning meeting, which I, you lose brain cells, you leave them on the, the coffee table on the desk. I had no idea what they were talking about, but not at a lot. Signed my name. We’re in the car driving down Ventura Boulevard in the valley in la Get a phone call Bill hater. Bill Hater. Henry (34m 2s): H-B-O-H-B-O. You’re on a short list. Ooh, let me ask you, let me ask you right now. Is Dustin Hoffman on that list? Because if he is, he’s going to get it. I’m not going in. They said, no, he’s not. I went, all right. They sent me the script. My son Max, who told us he wanted to be a director when he was 10, he’s now 37. A new father and a really good director. He directed my audition. Dave (34m 39s): Wow. Henry (34m 40s): Very strict. And I went in, I read for Bill Hader, who I had watched, you know, on Saturday Night Live for years. I made him laugh. I thought, oh, this is a good sign. And then I didn’t hear. Then he calls and he said, Hey, I wrote two scenes. He wrote two scenes. Thanks. You wanna come in and play. In my mind, I was going, no, I don’t want to come in and play, because if I was good the first time, I might screw it up a second. Sure. Bill, send ’em to me. He sent ’em to me. I sent ’em to my son via email and he directed me over the phone. Henry (35m 23s): Max now is directing me over the phone. I went in and I got it. That was 2016. Dave (35m 34s): 16. Wow. Henry (35m 36s): Oh my goodness. It turned out to be one of the great roles of my life. Jean au acting teacher. Amazing. Dave (35m 46s): Yeah. That was your, that was your acting teacher? Henry (35m 50s): No, no. A au is actually a name that was the obstetrician that Bill Hader and his wife used for the birth of their daughters. But the, the character that I play is a, a conglomerate of their imagination. The teachers. I’ve had notes that other people have taken on other acting teachers, and this guy was supposed to be a total asshole Dave (36m 27s): Yeah. Henry (36m 28s): To start. And the way he came out of me, he was a little more human. And so they thought, you know, we could go that way too. Dave (36m 37s): And it worked. Henry (36m 38s): Yeah. Dave (36m 39s): And it worked. You guys are still going. Yeah. This is good. Well, that’s definitely on my, you know, on my list of, you know, I’ve got a lot of stuff I need to watch, but, Henry (36m 47s): Well, you know what I would suggest, I would suggest that you watch Barry first. Dave (36m 52s): Yeah. Henry (36m 53s): I mean, the other stuff doesn’t compare. I don’t even know what it is and I know it doesn’t compare. Yeah. There are eight episodes each season. There are two seasons, and now we’re in the middle of the third season. And I promise you, you will binge, you’ll not just watch one and walk away. Dave (37m 15s): I love that. And, and it’s a little bit on the dark side, right. It’s got some darkness, Henry (37m 20s): Not just a little bit. Sometimes I take a flashlight to work. Dave (37m 23s): How do you deal with that when you, when you play those roles? But it’s like, ’cause I always think of, you know, roles like this or other ones like Ozarks. Right. Where these, these really extreme things that Henry (37m 32s): Happen. Great. Great show. Yeah. Great show. Barry’s better Dave (37m 36s): Barry. There you go. That’s awesome. Well, when I watched Ozarks for the first time, I had to stop watching it because I was so scared. Henry (37m 42s): Yeah. Well, that might happen to you, but, and Jason Bateman is a good friend. Dave (37m 49s): Oh, he is? Yeah. And he has a great podcast. Bateman has a good podcast as well. Henry (37m 54s): Yeah. And they’ve never invited me, so maybe he’s not such a great friend. Dave (37m 57s): I’m, I’m gonna call him out here. We’re gonna get Bateman get you on the I love that show. Henry (38m 2s): I’m telling you. Isn’t that shocking? Dave (38m 4s): It is shocking. Wow. That is really shocking. They have one of the, they have, I’m sure you’re gonna be on it soon because they have one of the funniest podcasts out there. And you’ve, you’ve been, Henry, this has been a pleasure to have you on here. Henry (38m 17s): Can I just say I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with you? Dave (38m 22s): I think fly fishing has brought us together. I have this podcast that we’ve created around fly fishing, but it’s allowed me to connect with some of the most amazing people, you know, in our, in the country, around the world. Henry (38m 32s): Well, because, you know, the title of the, the book is, I Never Met an Idiot on the River. Dave (38m 38s): Yeah. Henry (38m 39s): And If you think about it, I’ve really never met somebody who likes to fly fish and everything that it entails, the patience, the beauty, the respect, the respect of the river, the respect of the fish. I’ve never met an idiot who is a fly fisher person. Dave (39m 4s): Nope. No, that’s a, that’s a good, that’s a good title. As we get outta here, Henry, what, what are you most grateful for in your life? Henry (39m 13s): I am most grateful for my wife, my children who are mostly rude, my grandchildren who are loving and the constant growth that opens my eyes, my to the dimension of living. Dave (39m 37s): Wow. And fly fishing has this movement called the 50 50. It’s trying to get more women into fly fishing. Right. To be more diverse and, and this thing that’s going on. Yes. Struggle for me is my family, is for me is because I’m out doing a lot of stuff and it takes me away from my family. For you, you’ve been away. How have you dealt with that? Where you’ve been away from your family? Henry (39m 56s): Well, you know, moat now, but I do Barry, I shoot it right here in LA Dave (40m 3s): Oh, Henry (40m 3s): Wow. So I’m home at night if it’s not a very long shoot. I’m home on the weekends. When I did Happy Days for 10 years, I was home Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and Saturday and Sunday, Thursday was a long day and Friday was a very even longer. Dave (40m 26s): Yep. You’ve been around, you’ve been around for that. That’s great. ’cause you family is obviously important to you. Yeah. All right. Well, where, where can we send people, if they have, if they want to track you down at any place on social media where we can Henry (40m 38s): Well, you know, I love Twitter. Dave (40m 40s): Oh, good. Henry (40m 41s): You know, until there are major changes. Dave (40m 44s): Yeah. Henry Winkler for real on Twitter, I believe. Right? Henry (40m 48s): Yeah. Number four, Henry Winkler, number four. Four. The number four reel. Yeah. REAL. Yeah. And I’m almost at a minion followers. Dave (41m 0s): Really? Henry (41m 1s): Yeah. Oh, wow. It took me this long. I started when we were doing the movie that I love, here comes the Boom with Kevin James, and that was like in 2011, maybe a little earlier. And I love that movie, but I love Twitter. Dave (41m 24s): Yeah, you loved her. I’m gonna track you down on Twitter because I love Twitter as well. And I’m gonna, once we get this episode ready to roll, we’ll get it out there and we’ll, we’ll share it Out to tv. Henry (41m 34s): Terrific. Well, I wish you and everybody listening tight lines. Dave (41m 40s): So there you go. Another massive, massive podcast in the books for us. Hope you enjoyed that one. If you wanna check all the links, all the show notes, everything else today, wetly swing.com/ 3 3 4 334, you know, I’m gonna have some killer movie Snippets, reels, and hopefully we got a whole line of some of the movies that we talked about today. Pretty amazing, right? This is a pretty epic day for me. Not only is Henry Winkler the Fly Fishing, he is an amazing actor and also a very cool and funny person. This is going to be a hard one to top, but let us, let’s not even think about topping this one. Dave (42m 21s): Let’s just let this sink in the episode today. Very cool. We are still building this show up from the grassroots, and it has been created one share at a time, one downloaded at a time. That’s the way we’ve done this. If you haven’t shared an episode yet, this is the one to get it out there. Let’s share this one out. Let’s let the world see this Fly fishing superstar, and let’s see if we can break the podcast download number today. Let’s see if we can do it. Let’s see if we can break our host and then, and put in a massive number just to, just to see what that looks like. All right. Dave (43m 4s): Thank you for your support and for supporting this podcast. See you online or see you on the water. Outro (43m 11s): Thanks for listening to the Wet Fly, swing Fly Fishing show. For notes and links from this episode, visit wet fly swing.com.