“You’re Weird Al, Harry”
Famed song parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic has a biopic in the works, and the choice of star to portray him is a bit, well, weird. Daniel Radcliffe will play Weird Al in the upcoming film WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. The parody biopic produced by Funny or Die and Tango will stream exclusively on The Roku Channel, reports say.
Though a weird choice to have the former Harry Potter lead take on the role of the American singer, Radcliffe is no stranger to weird roles in recent years. The British actor starred as a flatulent dead body in Swiss Army Man, and more recently performed a Wild West burlesque number in Miracle Workers. He knows how to do “weird.” Should the biopic require the actor to sing, he has a pretty good American singing voice, having starred as the lead role on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
But really, the biopic could feature him doing anything weird. According to the statement of the film’s release, “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.” Judging by that description, this may not be the most accurate biopic of Weird Al’s career, but what else would you expect from a man who wrote a ten minute song about Albuquerque, New Mexico?
Weird Al, who has won five Grammy awards over his 40 year career, is also no stranger to film. “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,” Yankovic said in a statement. “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.”
Radcliffe most recently appeared in HBO’s Return to Hogwarts reunion special, celebrating the 20th anniversary of a film that clearly will not have as much of an impact on Radcliffe’s career as this one will. Co-written by Al Yankovic and Eric Appel and directed by Appel, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic will arrive on Roku sometime in the future. Until then, you can check out the sketch “trailer” that Appel directed all the way back in 2010. All of this is weird, but why would we want it any other way?