{"id":360087,"date":"2026-09-10T08:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/henry-winkler-says-he-talked-too-much-while-directing-tom-hanks-before-he-was-fired"},"modified":"2026-09-10T08:10:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:10:27","slug":"henry-winkler-says-he-talked-too-much-while-directing-tom-hanks-before-he-was-fired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/henry-winkler-says-he-talked-too-much-while-directing-tom-hanks-before-he-was-fired","title":{"rendered":"Henry Winkler Says He \u2018Talked Too A lot\u2019 Whereas Directing Tom Hanks Earlier than He Was Fired"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Henry Winkler has spent years joking around one of Hollywood’s stranger long-running tensions. This time, he supplied more of the uncomfortable part himself.<\/p>\n

The Happy Days<\/em> star revisited the 13 days he spent directing Tom Hanks in 1989’s Turner & Hooch<\/em> during a new In Depth With Graham Bensinger<\/em> interview. Winkler now says his own insecurity may have contributed to the trouble, recalling that he \u201ctalked too much\u201d and kept giving direction while working with Hanks and Mare Winningham, according to PEOPLE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He was fired less than two weeks into filming and Roger Spottiswoode ultimately directed the movie. Winkler still does not say Hanks personally ordered his removal, but he remembers repeatedly giving notes and asking to do work again before concluding that his approach had \u201capparently\u201d angered the actors.<\/p>\n

Nearly four decades later, asked how he views Hanks now, he replied, \u201cI am still working on my perspective.\u201d Asked whether the relationship could someday repair itself, his answer was much shorter \u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winkler Says He Ignored His Instinct Before Filming Began<\/h2>\n
\n

Henry Winkler reflects on his rift with Tom Hanks after being fired as the director for \u2018Turner & Hooch\u2019: \u2018I am still working on my perspective.\u2019 https:\/\/t.co\/UbzIj8aFGH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Winkler says there was a warning before the first take, although it came from himself. Jeffrey Katzenberg, then chairman of Walt Disney Studios, approached him about directing Turner & Hooch<\/em>, but Winkler remembers having an immediate feeling that he was not suited to the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere’s a lesson. When your instinct says, \u2018Uh oh! Danger! Warning sign!\u2019 you do not question your tummy,\u201d he told Bensinger. Winkler said he ignored that instinct and later felt as though the decision had hit him \u201cin the face with a two-by-four.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nevertheless threw himself into preproduction. Winkler has previously said he spent approximately 11 weeks preparing the movie, and in the new interview he recalled meeting the dogs and working with Hanks during the casting process. The two auditioned actresses together before Mare Winningham was selected, with Winkler remembering an immediate \u201celectricity\u201d between her and Hanks.<\/p>\n

Once production began, Winkler believes his insecurity affected how he directed. \u201cI guess at that time, being insecure, I talked too much,\u201d he said. He remembered giving the actors notes, asking to repeat work and doing what he believed was his job, only to conclude that his approach \u201capparently\u201d angered them.<\/p>\n

The Firing Left Winkler \u2018Devastated\u2019 After Months of Preparation<\/h2>\n

Thirteen shooting days into the production, Winkler was called into Katzenberg’s office. He remembers being told, \u201cIt’s not in the dailies,\u201d referring to the footage being generated by the shoot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI then go to the set. I get my things. I drive home. I’m fired as a director,\u201d Winkler recalled. He said he was \u201cdevastated\u201d and did not handle the dismissal well. His agent immediately pushed him in the opposite direction of hiding. Winkler said the agent called and insisted they go to lunch so he would be seen publicly, even though Winkler had no appetite after losing the job.<\/p>\n

Winkler told PEOPLE in 1993, \u201cLet’s just say I got along better with Hooch than I did with Turner.\u201d Asked about the supposed feud again on Watch What Happens Live<\/em> in 2019, he praised the dog and joked that he could barely remember the movie’s title.<\/p>\n

Winkler later pushed back on the word \u201cfeud.\u201d In 2020, he told TMZ that he did not have one with Hanks and said a recent encounter between them at an awards event had been warm.<\/p>\n

Ron Howard Heard About the Fallout From Both Men<\/h2>\n

One person had an unusual position in the middle. Ron Howard had spent years acting opposite Winkler on Happy Days<\/em> and would eventually direct Hanks repeatedly in films including Splash<\/em>, Apollo 13<\/em> and The Da Vinci Code<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Howard told The Guardian<\/a> in 2020 that both Hanks and Winkler separately came to speak with him after the Turner & Hooch<\/em> fallout. Howard said the two men had \u201ca working style that did not fit\u201d and added that the experience had been painful for both of them.<\/p>\n

Their History Goes Back to \u2018Happy Days\u2019 and Winkler Still Has Hanks\u2019 Gift<\/h2>\n