Get Your First Look at Daniel Radcliffe as ‘Weird Al’ in Upcoming Biopic
Daniel Radcliffe is "Weird Al" Yankovic in a first-look photo that emerged this week from the production for WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story.
That's the incoming biopic led by the Harry Potter star about the pop culture fixture Yankovic, the musician and entertainer who's ubiquitous with humorous songs that parody pop hits and poke fun at the zeitgeist.
But should anyone think Radcliffe isn't up to the task, viewers now have documentation of Harry Potter himself dressed up like Yankovic, complete with the entertainer's signature glasses, curly hair, loud shirt — not to mention the accordion.
See the photo down toward the bottom of this post.
Sharing the image on Tuesday (Feb. 22), Yankovic joked, "SHOOT DAY #8: It never fails — we're trying to shoot a movie here, and this cosplayer weirdo tries to crash our set. Ugh! I mean, I love my fans, but… boundaries, people! Don't worry, we had security throw him out."
WEIRD is being produced by the streaming and digital media company Roku and will premiere on The Roku Channel, which doesn't require a Roku device to watch. However, there's no release date for WEIRD just yet. The biopic was first announced in January. Yankovic wrote the film with Funny or Die scribe Eric Appel.
Last month, Yankovic 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. And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me. … I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for."
Yankovic has delighted listeners with his comedy music for decades. He first came to public attention as a contributor to the Dr. Demento radio show, eventually seeing his song parodies grow in popularity with his self-titled debut album in 1983. "Eat It," "Another One Rides the Bus" and "My Bologna" are among his earliest releases, followed by songs such as "Like a Surgeon," "Smells Like Nirvana" and "Amish Paradise."