Viewers given further glimpse of Daniel Radcliffe in Weird Al Yankovic biopic

The film is set for release on November 4.
Fans have been given a further look at Daniel Radcliffe starring as Weird Al Yankovic in an upcoming film about the comedy singer (PA)
Connie Evans29 August 2022

Viewers have been treated to a further glimpse of Daniel Radcliffe starring as Weird Al Yankovic in a new trailer for the upcoming biopic.

A 60-second teaser clip for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story was released in May, followed by an extended trailer shared by streaming service Roku on Monday.

The new trailer opens with the 33-year-old Harry Potter star bursting into an office before throwing a tape and saying “put it in”, while donning Yankovic’s signature curly hair.

The film, which is set for release on November 4, will follow the life and career of the musical parody sensation who rose to fame with comical spoof versions of classic songs.

As the trailer continues Yankovic can be heard saying: “I’m tired of people thinking I’m some kind of joke,” before cutting to a young Yankovic sat at the dinner table with his parents.

While looking at her son across the table, Yankovic’s mother says: “Your dad and I agreed it would be best if you would just stop being who you are and doing the things you love.”

Over the course of his career, Yankovic, 62, has won five Grammy awards for his comedy recordings.

The trailer, which was shared on the official Roku Twitter account, also shows Radcliffe playing Yankovic’s accordion while singing a rendition of the artist’s My Bologna – a parody of The Knack’s My Sharona.

While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this year, Radcliffe revealed Yankovic had given him accordion lessons and loaned him his personal instrument to prepare for the role, and said he would “go to my grave” with the experience.

Madonna, played by Evan Rachel Wood, also features in the trailer, as she turns up to Yankovic’s house asking if he plans to do a parody of her hit track Like A Virgin.

Evan Rachel Wood starring as Madonna in the upcoming Weird Al Yankovic biopic (Roku/PA)

Yankovic replies: “I’m just curious… is that song autobiographical?” before the trailer cuts to the pair sharing a passionate moment together, with Madonna saying: “Yes… except for the fact that I’ve had a lot of sex.”

The trailer also touches on the singer’s experience with drugs and alcohol as Yankovic can be heard saying: “I’m a train wreck. My parents wrote me off. I pushed away my band.”

Yankovic’s 2014 release Mandatory Fun was the singer’s first number one album and won the Grammy Award for best comedy album at the 57th Grammy Awards.

His early hits included Eat It, a parody of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, and Amish Paradise, based on Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio.

His music videos have featured famous faces including Jack Black, Seth Green and Donny Osmond.

The trailer draws to a close with a montage of some of Yankovic’s weird and wonderful moments portrayed by Radcliffe, as the singer says: “In front of all the billions of people watching around the world right now, all I want to say is, be as weird as you wanna be.

“You will never find true happiness until you can truly accept who you are.”

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