Henry Winkler reveals the real reason behind Scream not using his name on poster

If you've ever wondered why Henry Winkler's name was missing from the first Scream movie, the actor has recently revealed the reason. He played Principal Arthur Himbry of Woodsboro High, who was brutally murdered, yet his name wasn't marketed.

According to Winkler, the studio felt audiences knew him too well and worried that seeing his name attached to the horror movie would take away from the fear they wanted to create. He looked back at the time working with director Wes Craven and shared the actual reason that many fans might have wanted to explore.

The actor said during his interview with Graham Bensinger:

"Now they come to me, the studio comes to me and says, 'We can't put your name on the film. We cannot put you anywhere near the poster... Why? They said, 'Well, you were Fonz, and you will knock the balance of horror off if we let them know you're in it.'"

So when this happened, the star was really upset by the studio's choice because he filmed one of the most haunting scenes of the movie. But there was an interesting twist: when Scream was shown to test audiences, Winkler's appearance actually earned applause.

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Here's why Scream kept Henry Winkler's name off the poster

Henry Winkler is one of the most recognized stars in the entertainment industry, and he knew director Wes Craven even before Scream came out. The two used to meet regularly for lunch, and during one of those meetings, Craven told him about a small role in his upcoming movie and asked if he wanted to play the principal.

Winkler agreed and went to Santa Rosa to film the part. His character meets a bloody end, getting stabbed before dying with blood covering his body. After filming the scene, Winkler opened his eyes to find Craven beside him.

The director then realized that the scene could be even more brutal, so he asked Henry Winkler if he could make Principal Arthur Himbry's death even more painful. Once again, Winkler agreed, cleaned up, changed back into his costume, and filmed the scene again.

Then he was told something he wasn't expecting: the studio informed Henry Winkler that his name wouldn't be on the poster or in the marketing for the movie.

The studio's concern was that audiences were too familiar with Winkler. If they knew he was in Scream, they believed his presence could change the way they experienced the horror.

Henry Winkler's Scream appearance got an unexpected reaction

Winkler eventually found out that the studio's worry did not quite play out as expected. During a test screening of Scream, his character's appearance was met with applause from the audience.

The reaction was interesting, as the studio thought putting Winkler's name might impact the balance. But when the death scene of the principal came out, everyone was really happy. Winkler said:

"And when my character comes on screen, I get applause."

He continued:

"I didn't know this until afterwards because the same people who said, "Oh, we cannot put your name on this film. We cannot put you on the poster," said to me, "Would you do press?"... I went, "Wait a minute. Will I what?" And so of course for me, for Wes, for the movie I did, I said, "Of course I will."

The same studio that told Winkler they could not use his name on the movie's marketing later asked him to do press for Scream. Winkler agreed, saying he wanted to support Craven and the movie rather than turn the request down.

Looking back, Winkler sees the experience as a lesson for actors. "You just show up," he said. The actor explained that you never really know what will happen once you've done your part, just like the reaction, the marketing decisions, and everything that followed were things he could not control.