Viewers stunned to discover man interviewed on TV after being evacuated in Dublin hotel fire is Hollywood legend

A man interviewed about a hotel fire in Dublin turned out to be a major Hollywood legend – and his response to the ordeal has won the hearts of thousands of people on the internet.

Guests at the Shelbourne Hotel were forced to evacuate on Wednesday morning, and a local news channel rushed to the scene to interview some of them about the incident.

But one turned out to be a major actor – Happy Days star Henry Winkler – and his epic response after a newsreader asked for his opinion on the situation has gone viral.

Despite being woken by the blaring fire alarm and having to rush outside, the star was in good spirits – and 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 the Irish publication RTE news.

‘I thought someone had set the alarm before we got there, as did another guest. Finally I went to another room and it was still buzzing so I called downstairs.

‘The woman said in a very calm voice, ‘Yes, we are all evacuating. You must evacuate now.’ And I left.’

The actor explained that he had arrived late the night before after his flight was delayed for hours, but was woken up by the alarm in the morning.

But he wasn’t in a bad mood despite the lack of sleep and was seen smiling as he chatted with other guests and then shook hands with the firefighters.

“Firefighters are some of my favorite people, firemen and firewomen,” he added to RTE.

“They run in when other people run out. I think their hands deserve to be shaken.’

‘It’s been a great adventure here in Dublin. I can’t wait to see the rest of Dublin,” he concluded.

According to the outlet, the fire alarm at the Shelbourne Hotel went off around 10:30 a.m. and a witness said “he saw smoke coming from one of the upper bedroom windows.”

Dublin Fire Brigade Colm Kershaw later said the fire was ‘contained’ to one room and there was ‘minimal damage’.

“The crews got there pretty quickly and put water on it. We had the floor insulated and we got it out pretty quickly,” he revealed.

Henry’s positive attitude and his gratitude to workers amid the aggravation left social media users impressed.

Immediately, X, formerly Twitter, erupted with messages about his involvement in the ordeal.

‘Don’t worry about the other customers. As long as Henry Winkler is safe. He must be protected at all costs,” one person wrote.

“One of the best people on God’s green earth,” another agreed. ‘Ireland could have become an international pariah if we had killed Henry Winkler.’

“It’s often said that Henry Winkler is one of the nicest people in Hollywood, I understand what these people are talking about,” someone else added. ‘Imagine being so positive after a disastrous start to your journey.’

Someone else found the “pure luck” of a journalist covering a small hotel fire and “randomly finding Henry Winkler there to interview” funny.

‘Assignment editor: go to the scene and get the victim impact. Reporter: I present to you, The Fonz,” a fifth tweet read.

A sixth said: ‘Imagine you’re the reporter who has to cover the fire and you see Henry driving Winkler crazy.’

Another user said they saw the news segment on TV and had to do a “double take” when Henry showed up.

While someone else described the video as ‘unexpected wholesomeness’.

“He seems like such a genuinely nice person, he just has a great vibe about him,” another person wrote.

Henry is in Dublin to promote his new memoir, Being Henry – The Fonz and Beyond.

After the incident, he posted a selfie with some firefighters on X and wrote: “Thank you Dublin Fire Brigade… our hotel was evacuated on our first morning.”

In 2013, Henry was involved in a similar scenario when a BBC reporter asked 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 that he was not a resident of Britain, but that he thought it would be a good way to improve the ‘economy’.

During the quick interaction, Henry explained that he was spending time in Richmond, where Heathrow was located, for work; he was in the middle of starring as Captain Hook in the Pantomime version of Peter Pan.

“There I was, getting started when suddenly a middle-aged man walked in, scarf around his neck, shopping bags at hand,” the reporter said later wrote of the experience.

‘He looked like a promising interviewee, so I jumped forward, started my story and immediately realized that I was speaking to no less a person than the Fonz.

‘I immediately became a chattering, star-struck idiot, asking if he had a voice here (doh! he’s an American actor), how his pantomime was going and even if he had a view of Heathrow (what was I thinking?).

‘It turned out that he did have an opinion and a small TV moment was born. For the record, it wasn’t intentional, it was a completely random encounter.

‘I knew he was Henry Winkler, but it took a while for it to sink in; and yes, as a resident of Richmond – even a temporary one – he is as entitled to an opinion as anyone else.”