Henry Winkler admits he felt 'anxious' after struggling with dyslexia

25 October 2023 , 15:12

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Henry Winkler has dyslexia

Henry Winkler has admitted he felt "embarrassed" at the height of his Happy Days fame after struggling to read his lines because of dyslexia.

The comedian starred as The Fonz in the hit ABC sitcom and said he would "stumble" over his words during each week's script reading. Speaking in a new interview, he admitted: "I spent most of my adult life being frightened, on the outside looking like I had it together and mostly being anxious."

Henry is about to release his memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz . . . and Beyond, in which he opens up about finally being diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 31. Before that, he was made to feel "humiliated" as people would call him stupid and lazy.

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Henry Winkler starred as The Fonz in Happy Days (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

In an extract of his memoir, shared exclusively with People, Henry explained how he felt "inadequate" when compared to his fellow Happy Dayz cast members. He recalled speaking at script readings and either stumbling over words, leaving words out or being unsure how to pronounce something.

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While the cast were supportive of him, he said he felt as though he was "constantly letting them down". To try and overcome his struggles, Henry would ask for scripts early so he could read them over and over. However, he said this would often put strain on the sitcom's writers.

And then, at the age of 31, Henry found out he had dyslexia. He realised he struggled with the learning difficulty after his stepson Jed, son of Henry's wife Stacey, was diagnosed after he had trouble in school.

He was diagnosed with dyslexia aged 31 (Getty Images)

Henry struggled with scripts (Getty Images)

Speaking to People, Henry explained: "In third grade he had to write a report and couldn't do it. I said to him everything that was said to me: 'Go back to your room. You're being lazy. Live up to your potential'."

Jed was then tested for dyslexia and received his diagnosis. Henry continued: "We read everything they said. I went, 'Oh my God, Stacey, this is me. I have something with a name."

In his memoir, Henry admitted he initially felt "angry" after realising he was dyslexic. He said it was hard realising he had grown up in so much misery "for nothing". However, he learnt to channel his anger into fighting through his dyslexia.

Scarlett O'Toole