The Hidden Controversies of Henry Fonda’s Life

If you expected Henry Fonda to be warm on set, think again. Colleagues respected him, but few called him friendly. He was intensely focused, sometimes withdrawn, and often intimidating. One actor described rehearsing with Fonda as “like performing in a snowstorm.”

He didn’t joke between takes, rarely broke character, and treated each scene with surgical seriousness. Some directors loved the discipline; others found him exhausting. If you were hoping for camaraderie, you were better off looking elsewhere.