Henry Winkler has recounted his panicked state of mind while winning a Primetime Emmy Award for playing Gene Cousineau in Barry.
After five prior nominations but no wins, the screen veteran’s name was finally called out by Matt Smith and Claire Foy at the 70th Emmys in 2018, beating Tituss Burgess, Louie Anderson, Brian Tyree Henry, Tony Shalhoub, Alec Baldwin and Kenan Thompson to claim the statuette for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
In conversation with Kelly Ripa for her Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast, the 78-year-old chuckled over the fact he seemed more interested in Smith and Foy’s work on The Crown.
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Winkler fondly shared: “I walked up the stairs and in front of me were the two actors in The Crown; Queen Elizabeth and [Prince] Phillip, and I start talking to them about the second season! They’re looking at me like, ‘Are you nuts?’ and then I realized I have a speech to give.
“I spin around and flashing in red: ’39 seconds.’ I spoke so quickly I’m telling you I had to get everything in!”
Ripa fired back: “Henry Winkler wins an Emmy and it’s his first Emmy, you turn that clock off and let him go. What he’s about to say is gonna be beautiful and his acceptance speech will win a second Emmy!”
Meanwhile, the star of Happy Days said he had “no idea” the whole room stood up to cheer him on.
“I have to tell you, that was one of the great moments from my professional life. If you played back the show in which I won it, you can hear them say, ‘This is Henry Winkler’s 1000th nomination and first win!'”
Laughter broke out between the pair, with Ripa then revealing she was “emotional” on the night of her guest’s success. She “couldn’t believe” it was Winkler’s first triumph because he’s “so amazing in everything” he does.
His role as Gene resulted in three further Emmy nominations in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Addressing the room filled with his A-list peers on that special night, Winkler quipped how he’d penned the acceptance speech 43 years earlier.
“[Legendary entertainment lawyer] Skip Brittenham said to me a long time ago, ‘If you stay at the table long enough, the chips come to you’ and tonight I got to clear the table!” he shared, subsequently namechecking Barry masterminds Bill Hader and Alec Berg and thanking his wife, the show’s “wonderful writers” and its “extraordinary publicist.”
