The 80-year-old star “didn’t let anybody in” before working with a therapist, he shared
Credit: Noam Galai/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Henry Winkler opened up about his mental health on In Depth With Graham Bensinger Wednesday, Sept. 9
- Things were “going sideways” before he pursued therapy, recalled the Emmy-winning actor
- “I was out of balance. I was out of my f—ing mind,” said Winkler, detailing his therapeutic journey
Henry Winkler is opening up about his journey with therapy.
The actor explained in a new interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger that at age 70, he felt like he was “treading water,” which led him to see a therapist.
“About 10 years ago, maybe 12 years ago, I was pretty good at either figuring things out or making it or smoothing things out in my mind or rationalizing,” Winkler, now 80, said in the interview published on Wednesday, Sept. 9. “And I just couldn’t do it anymore.”
When Bensinger referenced Winkler’s wife, Stacey Weitzman’s previous remarks that she wasn’t being “let in,” the Barry Emmy winner responded, “I didn’t let anybody in.”
Things were “going sideways” before therapy, he explained.
“I was not being able to just [say], ‘Oh, well, OK, I’ll move that aside and I’ll just move forward,’ ” Winkler said. “I needed to now empty myself out of all of the rancid garbage I had allowed to infiltrate.”
Winkler’s therapist and his daughter Zoe, said Bensinger, attested to the actor’s newfound confidence, calmness and self-respect. “It’s all true,” Winkler said.
His ability to “just listen” to others, he continued, “and not have to throw your point of view in unless it’s asked for,” made a vast difference in his mental health.
“And what’s your view on why you were doing that before?” asked Bensinger.
“Because I was out of balance. I was out of my f—ing mind,” stated Winkler. Asked if that was still the case, he said, “I’m getting there.”
Credit: Chris Delmas / AFP via Getty
The Happy Days alum added, “I was Swiss cheese. I was filled with holes. And I had to constantly be anxious about stepping in one of those holes. And my job is to become a chunk of cheddar, not a hole in sight.”
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Addressing his mental health with a professional allowed Winkler to develop “a connection to the depth” within him as an artist — which helped him in the award-winning role of Gene Cousineau in Bill Hader‘s hit HBO comedy, Barry.
“I could not have done Barry if I did not have therapy,” he concluded.
Winkler will next be seen in Rolling Loud: The Movie, which opens on Oct. 2. He also made a cameo in Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
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