Tom Hanks is probably the most loved and respected actor in Hollywood. Enmities will not easily be found against him.
The only notable dispute he is known to have concerned Henry Winkler, the Fonzie from Happy Days .
(Henry Winkler and Tom Hanks in an episode of Happy Days)
The two men were at odds for decades.
At the origin of the problem, their collaboration on the filming of Turner & Hooch , in 1989.
Tom Hanks played the lead role and Henry Winkler directed.
However, quite quickly, relations between the two men became strained. Tom Hanks disliked Winkler’s way of working and the way he treated him on set.
As Tom Hanks was the star of the film, he asked studio boss Jeffrey Katzenberg to fire Winkler.
Just thirteen days after filming began, Henry Winkler was summoned by Katzenberg.
“The meeting was brief,” Henry Winkler said in an interview in 2019. “ Katzenberg said to me: ‘Do you have your things with you? Then you can go.” »
He was replaced by another director, Roger Spottiswoode, who finished the film.
About his experience on the set, Winkler always remained discreet, only saying with humor: “I got along very well with the dog. »
Director Ron Howard, friend of Henry Winkler, with whom he played in Happy Days , and friend of Tom Hanks, whom he directed in 5 films, confirmed the dispute between the two men:
“This story is very disappointing. They both came to talk to me about it. It was something that weighed on them. I see it as one of those unfortunate situations where two artists have two incompatible characters, two different ways of working. They each suffered from it and, although I could not find a solution for them, at least I listened to them. »
Ron Howard assures that the two men have since reconciled.