Daniel Radcliffe Set To Portray "Weird Al" Yankovic In New Roku Channel Biopic

Daniel Radcliffe has played one of the most memorable roles of this generation as Harry Potter. Since then, he has displayed his acting skills in many successful projects but still carried the tag of the boy wizard. 

The 32-year-old is now set to take on a role that could just change this. He will be portraying the Grammy-winning musician "Weird Al" Yankovic in the Roku original movie, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Weird Al Yankovic is an iconic singer, musician, record producer, and actor who is known for humorous songs poking fun at pop culture. 

As per the Roku Channel press release, "the biopic 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." The film promises to take audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time. The biopic will be produced by Funny Or Die and Tango, with Yankovic writing it along with Eric Appel, who will also be directing it. Funny Or Die has also previously made a spoof Weird Al biopic way back in 2013.

"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," Yankovic said of the film adding, "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." His prediction may just come true considering the biopic is going to be a rollercoaster ride. Appel stated: "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."

Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming, said, "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. 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." The biopic will begin production in Los Angeles in February. It will be available to stream exclusively on The Roku Channel.

Yankovic has earned nearly 200 screen credits since 1983, earning a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in August 2018, reported Deadline. He has previously written and starred in the cult classic UHF. Back in 1997, he also hosted his own series, The Weird Al Show.

Radcliffe made his acting debut in 1999, at age 10, in the BBC One television film, David Copperfield. He has won several awards including the Teen Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards, and has even been nominated for a Grammy Award.