After years portraying “The Boy Who Lived” in the Harry Potter film franchise, Daniel Radcliffe is set to embody another iconic role, portraying Grammy-winning comedy icon “Weird Al” Yankovic in the upcoming biopic WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story. Radcliffe was cast in the project earlier this year — and now we have our first official look at him in costume. On Tuesday, Yankovic took to Twitter to share an official photo of Radcliffe as Weird Al, complete with a Hawaiian shirt, an accordion, and some epic mood lighting. Production on the project has been underway in Los Angeles since last week.
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“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,” Radcliffe said in a statement.
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.
“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.”
“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,” Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming, echoed. “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.”
Yankvoic co-wrote WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story alongside the film’s director, Eric Appel. 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,” Appel added.
“I am excited that my first project as the owner of Funny Or Die Studios is to help bring the story of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic to the screen. Weird Al is a comic genius and his impact on pop culture, his mastery of the music video, his award-winning music and his incredible life are a perfect fit for the talented producers at FOD,” said Henry Muñoz III, Funny Or Die Chairman and executive producer. “We are honored to partner with Roku, Tango and our director Eric Appel on this important movie. WEIRD has brought together a weird and wonderful team of creative people, to tell the story of a man who has made people laugh and sing across the world.”
What do you think of the first official look at Daniel Radcliffe playing Weird Al? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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