Henry Winkler: ‘I’m fine to still be known for the Fonz’

How do famous names spend their precious downtime? In our weekly My Saturday column, celebrities reveal their weekend virtues and vices. This week: Henry Winkler

6am

My inner clock wakes me. I make coffee then feed the dogs. Our son Max dropped off his idiosyncratic three-legged 
German shepherd three years ago and he’s still here. We also have Maisie, a goldendoodle, and Sadie, a labradoodle.

8am

I play a computer game called Zuma. It keeps me sharp.

9am

We have six grandchildren so I’ll watch one of their baseball games. We might live in California, but it is cold sitting on those metal bleachers. I take photos but leave the coaching chat to other people.

11am

My oldest grandson, Ace, comes over for a breakfast sandwich. He loves my scrambled eggs. I like a bagel with cream cheese and lox, or sometimes I won’t eat until a chicken sandwich and soup at lunch.

12pm

I love tending our garden. I just put in artificial grass because it is impossible to keep a green lawn here [in LA]. I like being home on Saturdays, but I like being away too. My wife Stacey and I go fly fishing. I love the sound of the water lapping against the boat, floating down the river. I’ve caught some huge trout, but I put them back. Stacey and I have been married for 46 years and the secret is listening, really hearing what the other person is saying.

2pm

If we’re home, Stacey and I watch the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with friends. I don’t like driving downtown, the traffic, the parking… but I sit in that seat, they play Rachmaninoff and it is so uplifting that I’m practically levitating.

6pm

We go for Mediterranean food or to a deli for hot dogs. Being recognised is part of my life. I’m grateful, and that opens you up. I’m taking the Fonz and Beyond tour around the UK next month. I talk about my life, fears, children, dogs, my wife, my parents, who were difficult, and my career. I’m fine to still be known for the Fonz. I won an Emmy for [HBO dark comedy] Barry, so what do I care?

8pm

I’d rather have a disparate group of people sitting at a table than be out at a showbusiness event. Sometimes we go to a friend’s house and watch a movie.

10pm

Stacey and I love television. We binged Line of Duty. I just had a chat with Jed Mercurio, the man behind it. He had an idea he wanted to float by me – and let me just say that I liked his boat.

12am

I go to bed and doze off. I never wake up thinking about things. It’s usually to pee and there are no thoughts going on whatsoever.

As told to Lara Kilner