Why did Henry Winkler turn down the role of Danny Zuko in ‘Grease?’

Just like Grease remains the biggest movie musical of the 20th Century and a classic that is unbeatable, Henry Winkler retains his regret for turning down the leading role of Danny Zuko.

Back in the late 70s, when plans were being made to finalize the cast of Randal Kleiser’s directorial debut, Winkler was the first choice to play Danny, the bad boy leader of a notorious motorcycle gang. But, at the time, the actor was understandably swamped with a very valid concern – that of being typecast.

Winkler’s fear is not unfounded, as being typecast in Hollywood is a common thing. It has happened to many stars – whether it is Tom Cruise playing the hyper-masculine action star, the talkative and funny roles with Ryan Reynolds’ name written on it, or Angelina Jolie somehow having a high number of femme fatale roles on her resume.

For Winkler, the possibility was even more prominent – he had just begun his career, and was already playing the bad-boy greaser Arthur Fonzarelli in the TV series Happy Days since it began in 1974. At that point, portraying Fonzie was the only famous role he had ever played. For the Arrested Development star, repeating the same role with Danny, and that too while he was still a part of the show, felt like a surefire recipe for getting typecast.

“I was dumb,” Winkler shared with People in a recent chat while talking about his upcoming memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz…And Beyond. “I spent so much energy, so much time – I spent so many sleepless nights thinking, how do I not get typecast?”

But he learned from the mistake (as the role eventually went to John Travolta), and believes that any actor suffering a similar dilemma like he did all those years ago should just “go with the flow. “What you do is you prepare to reinvent yourself. You do something completely different and then come back to center,” he added.

Whether he was waiting for the right role or did get typecast despite his best efforts, he didn’t work for eight years as an actor after the show ended. However, he finally broke whatever wall cropped up between him and success, as he went on to win an Emmy for Barry as well as gathering Golden Globe nominations for playing acting coach Gene Cousineau with his usual exemplary perfection.