- Guests of the Shelbourne Hotel were forced to evacuate on Wednesday morning
- One of them turned out to be a massive actor
- A local news outlet interviewed him and the video went viral
A man who was interviewed about a Dublin hotel fire turned out to be a major Hollywood legend – and his response to the ordeal has captured the hearts of thousands of people across the web.
Guests of the Shelbourne Hotel were forced to evacuate on Wednesday morning, and a local news outlet rushed to the scene to interview some of them about the incident.
But one turned out to be a massive actor – Happy Days star Henry Winkler – and his epic response after a newscaster asked for his take on the situation has gone viral.
Despite being woken up by the blaring fire alarm and having to rush outside, the star was in great spirits – and he even took time to thank the firefighters for their hard work.
‘When I heard the fire alarm, I thought it was the clock radio,’ Henry told Irish publication RTE News.
‘I thought somebody had set the alarm before we got there, like another guest. Finally, I went into another room and it was still buzzing, so I called downstairs.
‘The woman said in a very calm voice, “Yes, we’re all evacuating. You must evacuate right now.” And I left.’
The actor explained that he had arrived late the night before after his flight got delayed by hours, only to be woken in the morning from the alarm.
But he was not in a bad mood despite the lack of sleep, and was spotted smiling, chatting with other guests, and shaking hands with the firefighters afterwards.
‘Fireman are some of my favorite human beings, firemen and firewomen,’ he added to RTE.
‘They run in when other people are running out. I think their hands deserve to be shook.’
‘It was an amazing adventure right here in Dublin. I cannot wait to see the rest of Dublin,’ he concluded.
According to the outlet, the fire alarms at the Shelbourne Hotel went off about 10:30am and a witness said ‘he saw smoke coming from one of the upper bedroom windows.’
Dublin Fire Brigade Colm Kershaw later said that the fire was ‘confined’ to one room and that there was ‘minimal damage.’
‘The crews got up there fairly quick and got water on it. We had the floor isolated and we got it out fairly quick,’ he revealed.
Henry’s positive attitude, as well as his gratitude to the workers amidst the annoyance left social media users in awe.
Immediately, X, formerly Twitter, erupted with posts about his involvement in the ordeal.
‘Don’t care about the other patrons. As long as Henry Winkler is safe. He is to be protected at all costs,’ one person wrote.
‘One of the best people on God’s green earth,’ another agreed. ‘Ireland might have become an international pariah if we’d killed Henry Winkler.’
‘It’s often said Henry Winkler is one of the nicest people in Hollywood, I can see what these people are talking about,’ someone else added. ‘Imagine being so positive after a disastrous beginning to your trip.’
Someone else found the ‘sheer luck’ of a journalist going cover a small hotel fire and ‘randomly finding Henry Winkler there to interview’ amusing.
‘Assignment editor: Go to the scene and get victim impact. Reporter: I present you, The Fonz,’ a fifth tweet read.
A sixth said, ‘Imagine being the reporter sent to cover the fire and seeing Henry freaking Winkler.’
Another user said they saw the news segment on TV and had to do a ‘double take’ when Henry popped up.
While someone else described the video as ‘unexpected wholesomeness.’
‘He seems like such a genuinely nice person, just great vibes radiating from him,’ wrote a different person.
Henry is in Dublin to promote his new memoir, Being Henry – The Fonz and Beyond.
After the incident, he posted a selfie with some of the firefighters to X, writing, ‘Thank you Dublin’s fire department… our hotel was evacuated on our first morning.’
Back in 2013, Henry was involved in a similar scenario when a BBC reporter was asking Londoners what they thought about a new runway coming to Heathrow airport.
He stopped Henry to ask his opinion on the matter, who kindly told him he wasn’t a UK resident but that he thought it would be a good way to improve the ‘economy.’
During the quick interaction, Henry explained that that he was spending time in Richmond, where Heathrow was located, for work; he was in the midst of starring as Captain Hook in the Pantomime version of Peter Pan.
‘There I was, getting into my stride when suddenly a middle aged man hove in to view, scarf round his neck, shopping bags to hand,’ the reporter later wrote of the experience.
‘He looked a promising interviewee so I lunged forward, began my spiel and immediately realized I was addressing no less a figure than the Fonz.
‘Instantly I became a gabbling, star-struck idiot, asking if he had a vote here (doh! he’s an American actor), how his pantomime was going and even if he had a view on Heathrow (what was I thinking?).
‘As it turned out, he did have an opinion and a small TV moment was born. For the record, it was not a set-up, it was a totally random meeting.
‘I did know he was Henry Winkler but it took a moment to sink in; and yes, as a resident of Richmond – albeit a temporary one – he has just as much a right to an opinion as anyone.’
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
