Henry Winkler has revisited the long-running tension between himself and Tom Hanks, saying he is still trying to form a view of their relationship decades after he was dismissed as director of the 1989 film Turner & Hooch.
The 80-year-old actor discussed the episode during an appearance on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, recalling how he was removed from the production after just 13 days. Hanks, now 70, starred in the Disney comedy as detective Scott Turner.
Winkler said he had initially felt he was not the right person to direct the film, but accepted the opportunity after being personally approached by a senior Paramount executive.
“I went completely against my tummy, and it hit me in the face with a 2×4,” he said, describing his decision to take the job despite his reservations.
He suggested that his working relationship with Hanks began to deteriorate during the casting process. Winkler said the pair auditioned actresses together before Hanks settled on Mare Winningham.
“I guess, at that time being insecure, I talked too much and I gave them direction, what I thought was my job, and I wanted to do [the scene] over again and apparently that pissed them off,” he said.
Winkler recalled being summoned to the office of studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg during filming. He said Katzenberg told him the footage was “not in the dailies”, after which he returned to the set, collected his belongings and drove home.
“I’m fired as a director,” Winkler said.
He was replaced by British-Canadian director Roger Spottiswoode, who completed the film. Winkler said the experience left him “devastated” and that he did not cope well with the blow to his career.
The film’s production has long been associated with reports of disagreements between its original director and leading man, although the precise nature of the dispute has never been fully established. Winkler has previously denied that he had a feud with Hanks, saying that public speculation and reality were not the same thing.
Asked about his current view of Hanks, Winkler replied: “I am still working on my perspective.” When pressed on whether their relationship could ever be repaired, he answered: “Sure.”
He also revealed that he still has a signed model aeroplane made for him by Hanks while they were working on Turner & Hooch. “It was a model plane… While we were having meetings he built a plastic Piper Cub or something like that,” Winkler said.
The episode is particularly notable because Hanks had previously appeared as a guest star on Happy Days, the sitcom in which Winkler became famous as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. Hanks appeared in the series in 1982, several years before becoming one of Hollywood’s most celebrated leading actors.
Winkler said the pair later took part in a retrospective of Happy Days, but permission was not obtained to show 60 seconds of Hanks’s appearance. Despite the unresolved history, his latest comments suggest he has not ruled out making peace with his former collaborator.
