Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has been tapped to play Grammy Award-winning musician “Weird Al” Yankovic in a new biopic!
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, is a Roku Original biopic from Funny or Die and Tango that will be available for streaming exclusively on The Roku Channel.
The film is written by Yankovic and Funny or Die alum Eric Appel, with Appel set to direct after helming a short film of the same name for the production company back in 2010.
Yankovic has earned nearly 200 screen credits since 1983, earning a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 2018. He wrote and starred in the cult classic UHF and also notably hosted his own series, The Weird Al Show, for Dick Clark Productions and CBS back in 1997. He’s appeared as himself in everything from American Dad! to Children’s Hospital and 30 Rock, featuring more recently in Showtime’s Work in Progress, Bill & Ted Face the Music and the defunct Quibi platform’s revival of Reno 911!, which has now moved over to Roku.
He is the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all-time and is widely known for parodying the works of his fellow musicians. A five-time Grammy winner, his 2014 release Mandatory Fun being the first comedy album in history to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200.
The biopic promises to hold nothing back and explore every facet of Yankovic's life – from his childhood through his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon,” while touching on his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.
The musician said:
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.
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.
Appel is a writer, director and producer who has helmed episodes of series including Die Hart, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Son of Zorn, Silicon Valley, The Grinder, New Girl and Happy Endings. He has written on series including Pretend Time and Crank Yankers, while producing Son of Zorn and other projects.
Apart from his turn as the wizard Harry Potter in the Warner Bros.’ franchise of the same name, Radcliffe is an award-winning actor who has starred in multiple films such as Kill Your Darlings, Trainwreck, Swiss Army Man, and Guns Akimbo. He currently stars in the TBS comedy series Miracle Workers created by Simon Rich, and will next appear opposite Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in comedy film The Lost City.