Fans are divided after seeing Daniel Radcliffe in action as Weird Al Yankovic in the forthcoming biopic, following the release of the film’s teaser trailer yesterday (Tuesday 3 May) – watch it here:
The movie promises to delve into ‘every facet’ of the life of Alfred ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, the American musician known for bizarre, humorous songs that poke fun at pop culture.
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Over the years, Yankovic earned himself five Grammy Awards, six platinum-selling records and four gold records, having managed to find continued success after embracing YouTube to release videos, finding something of a cult audience online.
Now he’s the subject of a brand-new film starring Daniel Radcliffe, with the official synopsis for Weird: The Al Yankovich Story saying: “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."
Speaking about his turn as Yankovich, Radcliffe previously told The Hollywood Reporter: “Wearing the Hawaiian shirt is a huge responsibility that I don’t take lightly, and I’m honoured to finally share with the world the absolutely 100 per cent unassailably true story of Weird Al’s depraved and scandalous life.”
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After the teaser dropped, many fans seemed immediately won over by Radcliffe’s portrayal, with one tweeting: “This is the ultimate role for Daniel Radcliffe.”
Someone else commented: “I never knew I needed Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al in my life until just now.”
A third said that ‘whoever cast Daniel Radcliffe’ was an ‘absolute genius’, while a fourth added: "The world does not deserve to be graced by Daniel Radcliffe playing Weird Al but they did it anyways."
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Some people, however, may still need a bit of convincing yet, with a number of people pointing out the physical differences between Radcliffe and Yankovic.
One asked: “Am I the only one who thinks that Daniel Radcliffe being cast as Weird Al is bizarre? It looks like a fake biopic.”
Someone else agreed: “Weird Al is 6 feet tall. Does Daniel do the entire film standing on a box?”
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Others said Radcliffe looked ‘too buff’, with one person saying: “Al didn’t have pecs and abs like that back in the day that I remember.”
Another added: “Uhhh.... no. Just no. I love Daniel but this is not well cast.”
Topics: TV and Film, Daniel Radcliffe
Jess Hardiman