Nobody could ever accuse Daniel Radcliffe of playing it safe after the end of Harry Potter. In the decade since, he’s gone on to play a farting corpse (hello, Swiss Army Man), an FBI agent under cover as a neo-Nazi (whatup, Imperium), and a man transforming into the Devil (hey there, Horns) among many other surprising and daring choices. And if you thought that time in his career was over in the wake of the recent Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts special, think again: Radcliffe’s next move will be playing ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, the accordion-playing parodically-minded comedy musician, in a biopic about the man himself.
Radcliffe has been confirmed to play Yankovic in upcoming film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, due to start shooting soon – from director Eric Appel, formerly of comedy site Funny Or Die. Appel co-wrote the film with Yankovic himself. “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,” says Appel. Yankovic also gave a suitably witty statement on the film’s announcement, and Radcliffe’s casting: “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.”
Weird will be a Roku Original movie, available exclusively on The Roku Channel, and is produced by Funny Or Die. According to a press release, the film will chart Yankovic’s rise to fame through his early parody tunes, as well as “his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle”. Get ready for a deep dive into the world accordion to Weird Al.