0:00:10 > 0:00:14My guest today is an actor whose long career will always be defined
0:00:14 > 0:00:17by one role.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Henry Winkler was the Fonz, the cool dude at the centre
0:00:20 > 0:00:23of the US TV show Happy Days which was a worldwide hit
0:00:23 > 0:00:25in the 70s and 80s.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30The show portrayed an innocent, untroubled 1950s America.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33It was a far cry from Winkler's own childhood which was clouded
0:00:33 > 0:00:37by undiagnosed dyslexia.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41How did a troubled kid come to be a symbol of sunny optimism,
0:00:41 > 0:00:47and what happened to the idealised America of Happy Days?
0:01:20 > 0:01:21Henry Winkler, welcome to HARDtalk.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23I am happy to be here.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Let me take you back to 1974, the first airing of the show
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Happy Days, which was to become a massive hit.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32Did you have a gut instinct when you first played the Fonz
0:01:32 > 0:01:34that this was going to happen?
0:01:34 > 0:01:35No.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I was hired as a fringe character with six lines.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42I would work one day a week.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47I would sit in my apartment most of the rest of the week
0:01:47 > 0:01:50because I couldn't play during a work week but I had no work
0:01:50 > 0:01:53because I only worked one day a week.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56And then remember, we did it with one camera.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Like a little movie.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03We shot 12 slots.
0:02:03 > 0:02:09We were number 48 in the country.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12If we did not get the ratings, we were gone.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16They were going to can us.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20In 1975, they came up with the idea of doing it in front of a live
0:02:20 > 0:02:23audience like one of the comedy shows famous during the 1970s,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26and that is what we did and immediately, it turned
0:02:26 > 0:02:28the show around.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33How did you manage to muscle your way into becoming the key character,
0:02:33 > 0:02:37the one that the show built itself around?
0:02:37 > 0:02:42I did nothing but concentrate on my character and the character
0:02:42 > 0:02:46muscled his way into the hearts of the world.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Let's go back to that time.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51The mid-seventies and the mid-eighties.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54It was a time when America was desperate for something
0:02:54 > 0:02:57optimistic to think about.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01You had been through Watergate, Vietnam, the civil rights struggles.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05But it is strange, is it not, looking back at that show,
0:03:05 > 0:03:10that it did not reflect any of the reality of a tense America.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15I think that was the main thought behind the show.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Pure escapism?
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Pure escapism and that is what Garry Marshall,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25the genius behind that show and Mork and Mindy and Laverne and Shirley
0:03:25 > 0:03:31and the Odd Couple and great movies like Pretty Woman -
0:03:31 > 0:03:35he is it my don, I kiss his ring - Garry Marshall, he says,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38"A lot of people make television that is really,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41like, supposed to be smart.
0:03:41 > 0:03:42I make recess."
0:03:42 > 0:03:44(LAUGHS).
0:03:44 > 0:03:47But there is something about making recess at a time like that
0:03:47 > 0:03:51which is a little bit strange.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56It is a timeless show.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59He made it in the 1950s on purpose because you could do moral stories
0:03:59 > 0:04:02without ever feeling like you were being hit on the head
0:04:02 > 0:04:05with a point of view.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08I suppose what I am getting at, in depicting 1950s America as that
0:04:08 > 0:04:11place of tight families, close-knit communities,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15where every kid got into scrapes but basically had a heart of gold,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18it was fantasy.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22It was never true of the 1950s or any other decade in the US.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26The fact is why I think it is so popular was that you wanted
0:04:26 > 0:04:31a family like that.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35So, children who were latchkey kids who came home and had a key
0:04:35 > 0:04:37to open their apartment and there was nobody there,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42they wanted the Cunninghams, they wanted a friend like the Fonz
0:04:42 > 0:04:46who they thought would take care of them.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Maybe I am over-reading politics into this but I am aware that over
0:04:49 > 0:04:55the course of making this show, ten years, you had the Carter years,
0:04:55 > 0:04:57which were difficult, and then the rise of Ronald Reagan
0:04:57 > 0:05:03and a certain kind of conservatism.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And that whole show was really an epitome of what Reagan wanted
0:05:06 > 0:05:10to believe America was all about.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Well, I met Ronald Reagan.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Very nice fellow.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Didn't buy his politics.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22Are you buying my analysis?
0:05:22 > 0:05:25It is a very interesting point of view that I have never thought
0:05:25 > 0:05:28about because even today in 2013, people watch this show somewhere
0:05:29 > 0:05:32in the world.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Yes, they are.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It was just re-run in America.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41What I'm saying is, I don't know...
0:05:41 > 0:05:47I think that optimism is important for human beings.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51They are having a hard time getting a job, it is always difficult
0:05:51 > 0:05:52to find a job.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57They are beaten up in the world outside, they come home...
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I don't think people want cutting-edge television.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02No matter how you cut it.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07I now want to bring you to a very personal story.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11About your own upbringing.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15Your own childhood was very far from that sunny optimism not least
0:06:15 > 0:06:25because your parents had been through hell.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28They were just able to escape from Germany before the Holocaust
0:06:28 > 0:06:32hit the Jewish community.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35And it sounds to me as though your relationship
0:06:35 > 0:06:39with your parents was troubled.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Your relationship with school was certainly troubled.
0:06:41 > 0:06:51My parents did not get who I was as an individual.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53So, that was really difficult.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55It was only after my success that they became proud.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59So, I admire them for having escaped Nazi Germany.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04I admire them for having started this brand new life in America.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09I am grateful for the life that I had.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13But emotionally, it was...
0:07:13 > 0:07:17No matter how you look at it, it was for me very difficult.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20And I promised myself I would be a different parent
0:07:20 > 0:07:28with my own children.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32And in the course of this interview, I want to get to your own parenting
0:07:32 > 0:07:34and your own children, but sticking with your youth
0:07:34 > 0:07:35for a bit longer...
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I was born an optimist.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I believe that to be true.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Do you think your difficulties with your own parents was in part
0:07:44 > 0:07:46a result of psychological damage done to them
0:07:46 > 0:07:57by their own experience?
0:07:57 > 0:07:58That is very possible.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59Because they lost their parents.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00Yes, they did.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01We lost everyone.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03I never had a real aunt or uncle.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06They were all the community of people who escaped to Germany
0:08:06 > 0:08:07and came to New York.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11That community stayed very tight, they became my aunts and uncles
0:08:11 > 0:08:12but they were not blood.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Lacking that wider support network within the family,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17you also lacked a nurturing school.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Because let's get on to the subject of dyslexia, which has,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22again, covered a lot of your life.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26You had real trouble learning at school.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28I have a lot of trouble learning, even today.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32You don't ever outgrow dyslexia.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36You learn to negotiate with it.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40It was really difficult because I was told in so many areas
0:08:40 > 0:08:42of my life that I would never achieve, that
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I am an under-achiever.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49That is the title of the book.
0:08:49 > 0:08:56This character that you created to help other children...
0:08:56 > 0:09:00No, it never entered my mind that I was helping anybody.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I was writing what I knew with my partner Lynne Oliver and it
0:09:03 > 0:09:05turned out that children wrote back and said,
0:09:05 > 0:09:11"How do you know me so well?
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I thought I was alone and now I know I am not stupid!"
0:09:15 > 0:09:18But you thought you were stupid because, again, not wishing to pick
0:09:18 > 0:09:20into difficult stuff, your own parents told you that
0:09:20 > 0:09:21you were stupid.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22Yes, yes.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I have said this before and I make the joke,
0:09:25 > 0:09:33they had an affectionate phrase for me, growing up -
0:09:33 > 0:09:35"Dumm Hund" - it means dumb dog.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40Not very affectionate at all, is it?
0:09:40 > 0:09:43No, it is a name I never used on my own children.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47And my son, Max, who is now a director, he was interviewed
0:09:47 > 0:09:50for his first film and he said his biggest problem growing up
0:09:50 > 0:09:52was that he was loved too much.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55(LAUGHS).
0:09:55 > 0:09:58You can smile about it and it is wonderful to see
0:09:58 > 0:10:02you relate to these stories with a smile but I wonder,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05when you have used phrases in the past like,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07"My self-esteem was around my ankles,"
0:10:07 > 0:10:11just how damaged do you think you were?
0:10:11 > 0:10:18I believe that there are three very important elements to living.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21One is that you remain relevant.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26I don't mean to remain famous or to remain in the public eye.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I mean that you remain constantly giving, giving out of yourself
0:10:29 > 0:10:34into the universe.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36That is one.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38That does sound a little bit Californian to me.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40No, I think that is universal.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43I really believe it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47As soon as a human being is dismissed as no longer useful,
0:10:47 > 0:10:52I think that they squeeze up into a raisin.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54But you didn't do that.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56You were never a raisin.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59What you did with very difficult schooling and a problematic
0:10:59 > 0:11:03relationship with your parents, you found a way to express yourself
0:11:03 > 0:11:05and in some ways, it is counter-intuitive
0:11:05 > 0:11:10because it was acting.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14You were a shy and troubled and then suddenly you flowered on stage.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15I didn't know that.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17I had always wanted to be an actor.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20I didn't even think about why that happened or how it came
0:11:20 > 0:11:24into my body, my mind, I just always had it as a dream.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Was it...
0:11:26 > 0:11:29We talked about escapism before in terms of Happy Days,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31but maybe it was the way you could escape?
0:11:31 > 0:11:36I never thought of that, but maybe that was the reason why.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Whatever the reason, I trained to be an actor and I now
0:11:39 > 0:11:43am living every day.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47I am 67 years old, I am still working as an actor.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I am living my dream every day.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53It's amazing.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56How on Earth did you - and maybe do you, because you are
0:11:56 > 0:11:59still a working actor - cope with read throughs quickly
0:11:59 > 0:12:00reading and learning lines?
0:12:00 > 0:12:04I was embarrassed.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08A read through, just so everybody knows, is Monday morning,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11we would read through the script for the writers and producers
0:12:11 > 0:12:13so they could hear it.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16It would be the beginning of the rehearsal to make
0:12:16 > 0:12:17the show that Friday.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19And you were struggling to read.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Struggling.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23How did you get away with it?
0:12:23 > 0:12:24I didn't.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I stumbled and I was embarrassed and I learned to live
0:12:27 > 0:12:28with my embarrassment.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I finally said, "You know what?
0:12:30 > 0:12:34This is me, I get through it, and this is how I get through it."
0:12:34 > 0:12:39And my heart races at every read through every day.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44And at the auditions, I assume you don't have to read
0:12:44 > 0:12:47through any more because everyone knows what you can do.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I don't know what it is like here, but in America,
0:12:50 > 0:12:51you have to audition.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53How do you prepare for the script?
0:12:53 > 0:12:57I memorise as much as I can.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I do the script and I make-up what I know to be the nature
0:13:01 > 0:13:05of the scene.
0:13:05 > 0:13:12And people say to me, "Well, that isn't what was written."
0:13:12 > 0:13:16And I say, "I'll do it verbatim if I get the job." Let's go back
0:13:16 > 0:13:19to Happy Days.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23You have established this character of the Fonz.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27But you were a highly-trained actor.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29You studied acting at Yale University.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34I have a master's degree.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Wasn't it frustrating when the Fonz's big thing
0:13:38 > 0:13:42was slouching on the stage with his leather jacket,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45drawling "Heyyy," and sticking his thumbs up?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48No and I will tell you why.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51I was trained to be an actor.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I was not trained to be an elitist.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56So, I loved that character.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58That character introduced me to the world.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01126 countries.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04I got letters from 126 countries, from people who said that
0:14:04 > 0:14:08I made them laugh.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10And they wanted to be my friend.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13I would visit with my children.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16We would visit the Hopi Nation in Arizona, because in the third
0:14:16 > 0:14:20year, they studied Native Americans.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Is it elitist of me to say to you that this
0:14:24 > 0:14:25did not stretch you?
0:14:25 > 0:14:26You were talented.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29That is not true because every single thing that I used...
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Let me finish the story.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35We went to be Hopi Nation and people would walk out of their homes
0:14:35 > 0:14:39with fresh bread and give it to me because the Fonz was respectful
0:14:39 > 0:14:45to Native Americans in a Thanksgiving show.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50It is not elitist of you to ask the question.
0:14:50 > 0:15:02I used every bit of my training as the Fonz.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05In Mork Mindy, I used slow-motion training that I used with a Polish
0:15:05 > 0:15:16teacher who studied a famous director.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19It was when Mork was first introduced to the world.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21We learned slow-motion and how to use our bodies.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23I used that as the Fonz.
0:15:23 > 0:15:30I love that image.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34I love that you can bring so much to everything you did in that show.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I could not have brought everything I did into the show,
0:15:37 > 0:15:53if I did not have the training.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57How much did it hurt when the magic of Happy Days began to slip away
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and people started to mock it?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01And then there was that moment, it occurred relatively early
0:16:02 > 0:16:03on in the decade of Happy Days.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06You did that dramatic thing where you we're water-skiing
0:16:06 > 0:16:07and jumped over the shark.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09That phrase "jumping the shark" became a phrase
0:16:09 > 0:16:11to describe gimmicky desperation.
0:16:11 > 0:16:12They were laughing.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14That is OK.
0:16:14 > 0:16:15Happy Days is still on.
0:16:15 > 0:16:30That phrase, that board game, is gone.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34But we were number one for about 4-5 years after that phrase was made.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36I had really good legs at that time.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38So, every time the newspaper would use that phrase,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40they would show me on water skis.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42I looked pretty damn good.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44I was OK.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47The other issue for any actor, not long ago we interviewed William
0:16:47 > 0:16:47Shatner.
0:16:47 > 0:16:48He of course is...
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Wonderful fellow.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52He will always be defined as Captain Jim Kirk.
0:16:52 > 0:16:53That's OK.
0:16:53 > 0:17:00He is a great stage actor.
0:17:00 > 0:17:00He now...
0:17:00 > 0:17:15I think he invested in a company that does commercials all the time
0:17:15 > 0:17:16in New York.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19But my point, without going too far into him, with you...
0:17:19 > 0:17:21You have lots of different shows.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22You produced, you directed, you acted.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23And you still do.
0:17:23 > 0:17:24My proudest moment are the novels I wrote.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26Really?
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Not acting?
0:17:27 > 0:17:28No.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30They are my proudest moments outside of my children.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Well, I want to talk about the book.
0:17:32 > 0:17:38Good!
0:17:38 > 0:17:40It brings us back to dyslexia.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42That's been a theme in your life.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Final question on acting.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Do you ever wonder, "What if I never won that part?"
0:17:46 > 0:17:46All the time.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49"Would I have actually gotten more out of my acting career?"
0:17:50 > 0:17:59No.
0:17:59 > 0:18:00I couldn't have gotten more.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03I now, at this moment, have three television shows.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I act on a show called Children's Hospital,
0:18:05 > 0:18:06which started as something online.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Last year, it won the Emmy for the best short comedy.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13It is only 11 minutes along.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16I do another show, Royal Pains, that is shown here.
0:18:16 > 0:18:23So you're not bitter about typecasting?
0:18:23 > 0:18:24Not at all.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27I am grateful.
0:18:27 > 0:18:50I live by two words: Tenacity and gratitude.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Tenacity got me into this chair and gratitude does not allow me
0:18:54 > 0:18:55to get angry about most things.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Except for when my daughter uses my credit card.
0:18:58 > 0:18:58It's absurd.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00That's perhaps a private conversation.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03If your daughter has a credit card, allow me to suggest a shredder.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04I have a daughter.
0:19:04 > 0:19:05How old?
0:19:05 > 0:19:05She is 15.
0:19:06 > 0:19:06She's getting there.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08It will shock you.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It will shock you!
0:19:12 > 0:19:13Yes, I know.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Your mortgage is going towards a pair of shoes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:17I'll tell you now.
0:19:17 > 0:19:26You've told me.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Jimmy Choo's, could have bought a house.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30You mentioned something interesting about anger.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34I want to have you reflect on some of the biggest stars on TV.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40People like Charlie Sheen.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42The behaviour some of them have indulged in.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Very different to yours.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47You always spoke about being a team player.
0:19:47 > 0:19:53Do you think that has disappeared?
0:19:53 > 0:19:55No, there are wonderful team players.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01Here is the problem.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03You are treated almost like a deity.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06People want to touch you in the street, want some
0:20:06 > 0:20:07of your clothes.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Would like to cut your hair, to have some of it.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14You cannot believe what people are telling you.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16I'm still short.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I did not grow one inch because I was famous.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25I am still Henry Winkler.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26I know only what I know.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28I am not an authority on stuff.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30I don't know.
0:20:30 > 0:20:44You want so badly to buy in.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46You want so badly to believe, "I'm special."
0:20:47 > 0:20:48"I can walk on water."
0:20:48 > 0:20:49And it just isn't true.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53There are lots of people who make a pact with the devil and go
0:20:53 > 0:20:54down that road.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55And it will destroy you.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Like you were hit by a car.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58Like an oncoming train.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01That kind of hubris will cut you in half.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Honestly, that is the truth.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Before we end, I would like to spend a little more time
0:21:07 > 0:21:07talking about dyslexia.
0:21:07 > 0:21:22OK.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25You have turned it into one of your life's works.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26You have written about it.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28But you have, in your own life, children.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29I do.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30And they are dyslexic.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31In your view, is it...
0:21:31 > 0:21:33What do you know about it?
0:21:33 > 0:21:35I know that it is hereditary.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Those families who have children who learn differently,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42and are embarrassed by their child because they do not live up
0:21:42 > 0:21:47to snuff, you created it.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48It comes from your genes.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Parents out there.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Is there a danger of over diagnosis?
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Yes.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55Kids have different talents.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Absolutely.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58Here is the real danger.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00In not allowing them to be honest.
0:22:00 > 0:22:17Telling a child they're just lazy.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20In telling a child, just work a little harder.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21Learn Latin and you'll be great.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24There are children who are wired to learn a foreign language.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26I lived in a family that spoke German.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28And I know just a few words.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33My brain does not comprehend it.
0:22:33 > 0:22:44Why do we only celebrate the top 10% when it is the bottom 10% that
0:22:44 > 0:22:47every day creates a plastered room, an art piece,
0:22:47 > 0:22:47they're great athletes?
0:22:47 > 0:22:48They also...
0:22:48 > 0:22:54Dyslexia - you learn to meet your destiny.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55Why don't we help them?
0:22:55 > 0:22:58You have visited schools, you have been involved in programmes.
0:22:58 > 0:23:05What's the key?
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Acknowledge that the child is having trouble, realise
0:23:07 > 0:23:10that their self-image is imploding, you do not have to tell a child
0:23:11 > 0:23:16they are not doing well in school.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17They know.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20They know how hard it is to write the math problem
0:23:20 > 0:23:21or learn a language.
0:23:21 > 0:23:22Or read a book.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26They know.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29You support them and make sure that their self-image
0:23:29 > 0:23:30is powerful and strong.
0:23:30 > 0:23:37And they will meet their destiny.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39We began by talking about optimism.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42You come across to me as one of the most optimistic...
0:23:42 > 0:23:44Do you know how I see my life?
0:23:44 > 0:23:49Do you know how I see my life?
0:23:49 > 0:23:53You know that toy that has sand at the bottom and you punch it?
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And then it goes down and comes right back up?
0:23:55 > 0:23:56You blow it up.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58That is how I see myself.
0:23:58 > 0:23:59I go down.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00I get back up.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02And here I am, sitting in this chair.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04I have written 23 novels with my partner.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07A brand new one about a ghost buddy.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12It sounds like the Fonz.
0:24:12 > 0:24:23"You can call me a banshee, but that's rude".
0:24:23 > 0:24:25That is a great way to end.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Thank you.