Life just got pretty weird for Daniel Radcliffe. The “Harry Potter” star has been announced to play the title role in “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” This marks Roku Channel’s first original biopic movie. Produced by Funny Or Die and Tango, the feature-length film is written by Yankovic and Eric Appel. Appel, who is set to direct, also directed the Roku Original “Die Hart.”
“Weird Al” Yankovic rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s when his pop culture parodies of songs such as Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock’n Roll” and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” took on a life of their own. “I Love Rocky Road,” “Eat It,” and other tracks such as “Like a Surgeon” (based on Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’) were heard in regular rotation on the airwaves, making Yankovic a household name. The singer, musician, producer, and actor first took on the role of DJ at KCPR while in college, then adopting the moniker “Weird Al.” In 1979, his first song, “My Bologna,” (a parody of The Knack’s ‘My Sharona’) was played on the “Dr. Demento Show,” garnering him – and his accordion playing skills – attention from The Knack’s lead singer, Doug Fieger. This led “Weird Al” down an unusual path of his own – hence the biopic.
“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” promises to give viewers a true and unexaggerated look at the artist’s journey. “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,” Yankovic announced. “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.”
As the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time, “Weird Al” Yankovic continues to make history his way. He’s a five-time Grammy winner and is one of only three artists to have had their top 40 hits in each of the last four decades. He released Mandatory Fun in 2014 which was the first comedy album in history to debut at No.1 on Billboard’s Top 200. On August 27, 2018, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
As for Radcliffe, the actor has been testing his comedy chops for the past three seasons in TBS’s “Miracle Workers,” starring opposite Steve Buscemi. So, stepping into the shoes of “Weird Al” looks to be a perfect fit.
Roku also announced plans for its first-ever original adult animated series this week. The post-apocalyptic comedy “Doomlands,” created by Josh O’Keefe, debuts on The Roku Channel on January 28.
Production for “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” begins in February 2022.
