Daniel Radcliffe Speaks Out on Responsibility of Playing Weird Al Yankovic

Shortly after the first set photos dropped showing Daniel Radcliffe in wardrobe as "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Harry Potter star sat down with People magazine to talk about the role a bit, using the over-the-top vernacular of superhero and other actors who take on high-pressure, iconic pop culture roles and want the audience to know that they are taking them very, very seriously. It seems to be part of the selling point for the upcoming Roku biopic, which Yankovic co-wrote and which has consistently described the singer's life as harrowing and full of scandal and depravity.  

Per Roku's official description, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story promises to hold nothing back when it comes to exploring every facet of Yankovic's storied 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. Of course, the reality is that Yankovic has lived a scandal-free life...so much so that after 30 years in the public spotlight and in the music industry, the "bad" stories that get repeated often are the couple of times somebody didn't like his parody of their song.

"Wearing the Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I don't take lightly, and I'm honored to finally share with the world the absolutely 100 percent unassailably true story of Weird Al's depraved and scandalous life."

At the time of Radcliffe's casting, Yankovic said that he was "absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying" the Grammy winner, joking, "I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for."

Yankovic along with Eric Appel are credited as writers on WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. Appel is also pulling double duty as director and executive producer. Al Yankovic produces, along with Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Whitney Hodack for Funny Or Die, and Tim Headington, Lia Buman and Max Silva for Tango. Funny Or Die's Henry Muñoz III and Tango's Neil Shah are executive producers.

"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," writer and director Eric Appel said when the film was announced.

There is no set release date for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story yet, but it's expected to come out in late 2022 or early 2023.