Henry Winkler Signs on to Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch

Coming off an Emmy win for his wonderful work on HBO’s Barry, TV comedy treasure Henry Winkler—long best-known for portraying Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on iconic ‘70s/’80s sitcom Happy Days—is experiencing a full-blown career renaissance. To wit, the septuagenarian actor has signed on for The French Dispatch, the still-mysterious new film from six-time Oscar nominee Wes Anderson, according to THR.

The French Dispatch, now in production over in—you guessed it—France, has the cast we’ve come to expect from an Anderson joint: Regulars include Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody and Bob Balaban, who are joined by Anderson neophytes Benicio Del Toro, Timothee Chalamet and Lois Smith, the last two of whom shared the screen in 2017’s Lady Bird. For now, all that’s known of The French Dispatch’s plot is that the film is set in the 20th century at the Paris bureau of an American newspaper, with three intertwining storylines. We also know it will be a live-action film, Anderson’s first since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. Indian Paintbrush produces The French Dispatch as it has the past five Anderson films, from 2007’s The Darjeeling Limited to 2018’s Isle of Dogs.

Winkler just wrapped season two of Barry, in which he plays Gene Cousineau, the acting coach to Bill Hader’s hitman-turned-aspiring actor. In addition to his Emmy win, Winkler landed a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting turn on Barry, though the award went instead to A Very English Scandal’s Ben Whishaw. Who knows, though—depending on the size of his French Dispatch role, Winkler could have his eye on an Oscar next.