Daniel Radcliffe Cast as ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in Upcoming Biopic
"Weird Al" Yankovic is the latest artist to get the biopic treatment. The comedic songwriter will be portrayed onscreen by Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe.
According to a press release (via The Hollywood Reporter), Weird: The Al Yankovic Story “holds nothing back," chronicling everything from Yankovic's rise to fame with hits like "Eat It" and "Like a Surgeon" to his "torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle."
“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,” said Yankovic. “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.”
Co-written by Yankovic and director and producer Eric Appel, the movie is set to go into production next month and will eventually be released exclusively on the Roku channel.
“When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn’t believe any of it," Appel said. "But I knew that we had to make a movie about it.”
“There clearly aren’t enough biopic movies about famous musicians, and we were excited to shine a light on the incredibly true, unexaggerated story of Weird Al,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s head of original scripted programming. “This is sincerely the ultimate combination of talent, creativity and friends coming together to make something genuinely funny and we could not be prouder to call this film a Roku Original.”
Yankovic is also scheduled to launch a 133-date tour in April that will wrap up in October in New York City. A complete list of concert dates can be viewed on his website.