Daniel Radcliffe to Star as Weird Al Yankovic in Full-Length Biopic
Daniel Radcliffe will transform into "Weird Al" Yankovic for the musician's upcoming biopic, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. The Harry Potter star has been cast as the Grammy-winner in the new film focusing on his career as a pop culture parody icon that will be available to stream for free on The Roku Channel.
"The biopic holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic's life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like 'Eat It' and 'Like a Surgeon' to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle," the film's official release reads. "WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic's life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time."
Yankovic said in a statement, "When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I'm very happy to say we're on schedule. And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for."
WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story was written by Yankovic and Eric Appel, who is also directing the film. The film is produced by Funny or Die and Tango, and will exclusively be available for free on the Roku Channel. The film's release date has not been announced, but production begins in Los Angeles in February. Appel shared in a statement, "When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn't believe any of it, but I knew that we had to make a movie about it."
Radcliffe has yet to speak publicly about his role as Yankovic, but opened up last year to Empire about his career trajectory after Harry Potter. "I've actually found it's an incredibly liberating thing to do the biggest thing you're ever going to do really f-ing early," the Swiss Army Man actor explained. "The financial success thing, that's done. So just do things that make you happy ... Like, for every director out there that was like, 'I can only see him as Harry Potter', there was at least one that said, 'I wonder if he'll do this really f-ing weird thing?' And I did!"