Henry Winkler mourns 'Barry' ending, but doesn't want HBO series to jump the shark

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Henry Winkler is savvy enough to know that working on HBO's dark comedy "Barry" was never a great prospect for long-term job security.

It didn't matter that the "Happy Days" icon, 77, won his first Emmy Award playing gloriously, overly dramatic acting teacher Gene Cousineau, the mentor to drama student Barry Berkman (star and executive producer Bill Hader).

Winkler's fear of the oblivious Gene getting whacked or dying because of Barry's secret double life as a hitman was very real.

"At the beginning of each season, I had one question for Bill: 'Am I dead?'" says Winkler, suddenly serious during lunch at his favorite Beverly Hills bistro. "So many people have died. Do I get killed?"

With Hader announcing that "Barry" Season 4 will be the last (the series returns Sunday, 10 EDT/PDT), it's the end of the line for everyone, including Gene.

"I am sad the job is over," says Winkler. "I love this character. It has completely redefined me. I have the same feeling about Barry that I did when 'Happy Days' ended. How am I ever going to do anything as impactful as this?"

Final season of HBO's 'Barry': Watch the Season 4 trailer with Bill Hader

Winkler's career exploded with 'Happy Days'

That's saying something for Winkler, who is celebrating the 50th year of his TV acting career in 2023 after first appearing on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as Rhoda's (Valerie Harper) dinner date in 1973

Of course, Winkler turned into a global, era-defining superstar a year later with his seminal role as leather-jacketed Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli in ABC's "Happy Days," which brought him 5,000 fan letters a week.

"My Plan A was to become an actor. Suddenly, I am in 126 countries. I lived Plan A within an inch of its life," says Winkler. "I had no Plan B."

"Happy Days" cruised through 11 seasons, recovering even after inspiring a now ubiquitous pop-culture term for a show in decline – "jumped the shark." The phrase was sparked by a Season 5 episode in which a water-skiing Fonz, still in his leather jacket, jumped over a shark pool.

Winkler has always gleefully embraced the phrase, even if he disagreed that "Happy Days" was losing steam at the time.

"There was a period in the eighth and ninth year where some of the stories got a little silly," says Winkler. "But the 'Happy Days' writers were phenomenal."

The Fonz was so indelible that Winkler struggled to find defining roles after "Happy Days" ended in 1984, executive producing hit shows like "MacGyver" and making splashes with roles such as Coach Klein in 1998's "The Waterboy" alongside Adam Sandler.

"There's a scene where I'm talking to a baby in the baby voice," Winkler says. "I did that at least nine times all different ways until I made Adam Sandler laugh."

He played Sandler's father in 2006's "Click," filmed not long after Sandler's real father died in 2003. "That was such an honor that he chose me," says Winkler. On TV, he excelled as the clueless lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn in 32 episodes of "Arrested Development."

Still, when he auditioned for the part of Cousineau in "Barry," Winkler shocked HBO executives with a scene that showed a flash of anger in the dark comedy.

"It's when I'm talking to my student, and I suddenly slam the table saying, 'That's (expletive)," says Winkler. "Later, they told me that the HBO people did not know 'Henry had that in him.' I can go from zero to revolution in a minute."

Winkler has shown the full gamut of emotions playing the self-involved, often profound drama teacher, including a deep love for LAPD detective Janice Moss (Paula Newsome), whom Barry assassinated in the first-season finale. When Gene discovers the full breadth of Barry's misdeeds, including killing Moss, that range went fully dark with rage by the end of Season 3, coldly delivering Barry to the police.  (He's now in prison.)

"And if you think it's been dark," Winkler warns. "You're going to need a flashlight for what's coming this season."

Bill Hader says 'the hardest thing is pushing him to be cruel'

This side of Winkler has impressed Hader.

"Henry's such a beautiful guy. The hardest thing is pushing him to be cruel because Henry's not a cruel person. But he does it perfectly," says Hader, who directs all eight episodes of the final season. "And Henry knows exactly how to play the comedy."

Winkler, who keeps his supporting actor Emmy in the office of his Beverly Hills home that he shares with Stacey, his wife of 45 years, might mourn the ending. But he respects Hader and co-creator Alec Berg's decision to end "Barry" with a tight four seasons.

"They were very clear about what they want and where they are going. When they saw the end, what am I or (is) anyone going to say?" says Winkler. "Besides, how many shows overstay their welcome... or even jump the shark?"

Who would know better than Winkler, who also literally jumped a shark (on a dock) in an "Arrested Development" homage.

"By the way, I'm the only actor on Earth who 'jumped the shark' twice," he says proudly.

Winkler has new projects in the pipeline, including a memoir, "Being Henry: The Fonz and Beyond" (out Oct. 31, the day after his 78th birthday) and his 38th children's book, "Detective Duck" (co-written with Lin Oliver, out Oct. 17). He scoffs at the word "retirement" – "it has never entered my mind," he says, repeating the line slowly for emphasis.

Henry Winkler, unlikely TikTok dancing star

And thanks to the encouragement of his six grandchildren, he's become a TikTok dance sensation, with frequent videos showing smooth moves and 1.4 million followers.

"This one has 2.4 million views," he says aloud, scrolling through his TikTok feed. "But it would never dawn on me to do a TikTok without my grandchildren."

Winkler also knows the ultimate secret for the near future: How "Barry" will bow out in its May 25 finale.

The fear returns even talking around it. "I know how it ends. But you'll never get it from me," says Winkler. "Because then I'll be dead."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Barry' final season: Henry Winkler on HBO ending, his 50-year career