Fans Divided Over Daniel Radcliffe's Portrayal Of Weird Al Yankovic

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. 

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.” 

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.” 

I never knew I needed Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al in my life until just now pic.twitter.com/lNlGIDV8Gc

— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) May 3, 2022

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."

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. 

Weird Al: You guys remember how I was absolutely shredded back in the day?

Producers: Sure. #Weird #WeirdAl #DanielRadcliffe pic.twitter.com/5Nw7d4M6yh

— Tim (@tim_ot_hy) May 3, 2022

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?” 

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.”