The first official photo of Daniel Radcliffe as “Weird Al” Yankovic in “Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story” was released on Tuesday.
“Weird: The ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Story” began production in Los Angeles earlier this month. The Roku Original film is set to dive into all aspects of Yankovic’s life and career — from his rise to fame with early hits like “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon,” to celebrity love affairs and his lifestyle off the stage.
In the photo of Radcliffe as the legendary comedy recording artist, the biopic’s Weird Al is seen playing accordion — wearing his signature large, retro glasses and Hawaiian shirt.
Aaron Epstein
“Wearing the Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” said Radcliffe in a statement on Tuesday. “I’m honored to finally share with the world the absolutely 100% unassailably true story of Weird Al’s depraved and scandalous life.”
“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,” said Yankovic, who is also one of the film’s writers, in a previous press release.
Alongside Yankovic, “Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story” is written by Eric Appel, who also directs and executive produces. “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,” Appel stated previously.
In response to paparazzi photos of Radcliffe as Weird Al that leaked over the weekend, Appel tweeted: “So happy that people are first seeing Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al the way I intended them to — in the basecamp parking lot, partially costumed and shot with a telephoto lens from across the street.”
The biopic is produced by Funny or Die and Tango, and is set to be exclusively available on the Roku Channel upon release. Funny or Die’s Henry Muñoz III and Tango’s Neil Shah are additional executive producers. Yankovic also produces, along with Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Whitney Hodack for Funny or Die. Tim Headington, Lia Buman and Max Silva produce for Tango.