Daniel Radcliffe reveals he learned to play the accordion for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. The English actor who rose to fame leading the Harry Potter franchise will play the titular parody musician in the upcoming comedy biopic from director Eric Appel. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story doesn't currently have a release date, though it is set to premiere through The Roku Channel.
The Weird Al movie started life as a fake trailer made for Funny or Die back in 2010, with Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul playing the lead role. A very real film with the same title and Radcliffe playing Yankovic was then announced in January of this year, with Weird Al himself credited as co-writing the screenplay with Appel, who had made the original skit. Westworld's Evan Rachel Wood will play Madonna, whose "Like A Virgin" Weird Al famously parodied as "Like A Surgeon," while The Office's Rainn Wilson will play Dr. Demento, the radio broadcaster who helped Yankovic become famous.
Now, as part of an exclusive interview with SR for his upcoming movie The Lost City, which releases March 25, Radcliffe mentions just how far he went with his research for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. When asked if he knew all of Yankovic's songs now, he notes that he knew many of them before being cast, but can confidently say he knows more after having completed production. Radcliffe reveals he can now also play some of them on the accordion, Weird Al's trademark instrument. Check out his quote below:
I knew a lot of them before, but now I definitely know, and now I can play some of the accordion. So that's a big step up from where I was before.
Despite only being announced this year, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story has already wrapped filming, needing only a brisk 18 days of principal photography. Early images of Radcliffe as Weird Al Yankovic generated a lot of chatter online, with the actor wearing a big, curly wig and mustache to accurately capture the singer's '80s look. Viewers are also eager to see Wood's performance as Madonna, given that the popstar is reportedly putting several of Hollywood's hottest young talents through the ringer while casting for her official biopic.
Radcliffe has warned audiences to expect a lot of, well, weirdness from the movie, which he has hinted might embellish the story of Yankovic's life in certain places. With Weird Al's involvement in the screenplay, fans might be looking to his music videos and 1989 cult film UHF as potential inspiration for its tone, which has the potential to be absurdly silly. Then again, no one really knows what to expect, and prospective viewers eagerly await the first Weird: The Al Yankovic Story trailer.