10 Actors Who Went Uncredited For Major Film Roles (And Why)

6. Henry Winkler - Scream

Henry Winkler will always go down in history of one of the most recognizable characters in TV history: Arthur Fonzarelli aka “the Fonz” on the classic 1970s sitcom, Happy Days. That had a lot to do with why his name was left off the credits of the 1996 horror film, Scream. One of the most memorable parts of the horror spoof is good old Fonzie showing up as a creepy high school principal to only then be brutally murdered by one of his own students midway through the film. Winkler’s appearance was one of many elements of the film’s pop-culture commentary, and it was also one of the surprises that made it so darn fun.

The final credits of the film shows clips of each of the cast members, but the film’s producers decided to not include Winkler because the lovable image of the aged Fonz might be too jarring and could bring theater-goers down from the adrenaline rush built up by the film’s climax. Winkler concurred with the producer’s aesthetic choice and went without credit. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

Just imagine right after the bloodbath at the end of Scream, all of a sudden seeing a picture of Henry Winkler and being reminded, that’s right, the freaking Fonz was in the movie! Woulda undone some of the frightful tingles in the spine, wouldn’t it? You can just imagine desensitized teens leaving cinemas in 1996 going, “Ayyy! I’m gonna gut you like a fish!” “No, I’m gonna gut you like a fish! Ayyy!”