Roku Unveils First Look at Daniel Radcliffe in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe takes on his weirdest role yet in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and he have the first official sneak peek photo. Recently, images from the set had leaked to social media revealing Radcliffe in wardrobe as the popular parodist who first rose to fame in the 1980s. Now an official photo from Roku has unveiled a closer look at Radcliffe, and while the angle and lighting still obscure the actor’s face quite a bit, he does look a lot like a young “Weird Al.”

“Wearing the Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” Radcliffe said of his role, per Deadline. “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.”

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Yankovic wrote the screenplay for the biopic with Eric Appel, basing the feature on an original Funny or Die sketch released in 2010. Additionally, Yankovic is producing with Mike Farah, Joe Farrell, and Whitney Hodack of Funny or Die, as well as Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max ilva for Tango. Appel is executive producing with Funny or Die’s Henry Munoz III and Tango’s Neil Shah.

When it comes to song parodies, there will never be anyone who does them better than “Weird Al” Yankovic. He broke onto the scene in the 80s with memorable spoofs taking aim at Michael Jackson, Madonna, and others, and he’s been doing it ever since. As different musicians have come and gone over the decades, Yankovic has remained a popular presence in the mainstream, and many musicians have said they didn’t realize they had made it in the music business until they’d been parodied by “Weird Al.”

Related: “Weird Al” Yankovic “Spoils” the Ending of His Upcoming Biopic

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story May Be Taking Some Creative Liberties

The original Funny or Die sketch with Aaron Paul gives us some clues about what the biopic will be like. Unlike seemingly most famous musicians, “Weird Al” Yankovic has had a career in music that’s been completely scandal-free. That may not make for the most entertaining biopic, however, so it seems like some creative liberties are being taken here to give Yankovic a backstory that’s not quite what happened in real life. The film “promises to hold nothing back and explore every facet of his 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.”

“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. 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,” Yankovic said in a statement when the film was announced.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is in development for The Roku Channel where it will be made available for streaming. It doesn’t yet have an official release date set but production kicked off earlier this month on the biopic.

Roku

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Jeremy Dick
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Jeremy Dick has been a writer and editor since 2014. He is a self-professed horror expert, pop culture enthusiast, and Bob Saget fanatic.

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