Daniel Radcliffe to Star in 'Weird Al' Yankovic Biopic

Kathryn Milewski -

No, this is not a joke...comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic has just announced he is the writer, producer, and subject of the upcoming biopic film Weird: The “Weird Al” Yankovic Story. Daniel Radcliffe is set to star as the parody artist.

The film will be an original made for the Roku Channel. Eric Appel is the film’s director, co-writer, and executive producer, with Funny or Die and Tango co-producing. Filming is expected to start this February in Los Angeles.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the description for the film says it “holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic’s 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. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.”


“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,” said Yankovic 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.”

Added Appel: “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."

"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,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s head of original scripted programming. “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.”

Foreshadowing this moment, Eric Appel wrote and directed a trailer for a fake Yankovic biopic back in 2013 for Funny or Die. It starred Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as Yankovic and included appearances from Olivia Wilde, Gary Cole, Patton Oswalt, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Scheer, and Yankovic himself.

See the teaser for Weird: The “Weird Al” Yankovic Story below.


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Article Image: Daniel Radcliffe at the 2018 Turner Upfront Presentation, "Weird Al" Yankovic smiling for the camera at the Lullabies and Luxuries Fashion Show in 2002. (everett225 and s_bukley via DepositPhotos.)