Daniel Radcliffe will play ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in a biopic

Daniel Radcliffe is ready to get weird.

The Harry Potter star will portray “Weird Al” Yankovic in a biopic about the famed parody musician, Roku announced Tuesday. 

The film, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, will be an exclusive to The Roku Channel produced by Funny or Die. A cheeky press release declared it will tell the story of Yankovic’s career from his rise to fame to “his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.” Yankovic, who previously wrote and starred in the 1989 comedy UHF, will write the film, while Eric Appel will direct. 

“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,” Yankovic joked. “I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule. 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.” 

Yankovic has won five Grammy Awards for his song parodies like “Eat It” and “Fat,” also earning acclaim for his original comedy songs. Tuesday’s announcement noted he’s “one of only three artists to have had their own top 40 hits in each of the last four decades,” along with Michael Jackson and Madonna. The film is the latest major project from Roku, which previously picked up original content from the defunct streamer Quibi and has created its own originals like a recent Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Christmas special. 

Radcliffe, meanwhile, has starred in a number of more offbeat projects since his lead role in Harry Potter, including Swiss Army Man, the 2016 film about a farting corpse — and now, his love of all things weird is being taken to its natural conclusion. Time to brush up on the accordion!