Henry Winkler acknowledges 'Barry' made him a 'better actor'

After five years of portraying the arrogant acting teacher Gene Cousineau on Barry, Henry Winkler is prepared to bid farewell to the character. 

The 77-year-old actor, who finally received an Emmy for his outstanding performance alongside Bill Hader, has experienced a range of memorable moments on the show since its debut in 2017. 

Winkler's character has often clashed with Bill Hader's hitman, who tragically took the life of Cousineau's beloved girlfriend, Janice. 

As the series finale of Barry airs on May 28 on HBO, Winkler recounts his experience of working with Bill Hader Hader on Barry.

Winkler professed he has become a better actor after working on Barry, saying, "I have become a better actor. I have. I'm getting closer to the actor I dreamt about being when I was doing the Fonz."

"Some of my idols in acting are Jack Nicholson and Anthony Hopkins, where there's no distance between their soul and their character. You can't even put a sheet of paper between the two. There is something so magnificent about that. And I have been working to try to get there," he added.

Lauding Bill Hader's expertise and humour, the actor further said: "Bill is generous. Bill is strict. Bill is clear. Bill is funny."

"So, if you're in a scene with Bill, one part of his brain is directing, the other part is acting. And if you do something funny, he'll start laughing. You've got to remind him: "Hey, you're not in your chair at video village! You're in the scene!" You know what else he does? He mouths the words with you because he knows them so well."