In a recent interview with Polygon, Weird Al opened up about his decision to not make Daniel Radcliffe sing in his movie. Radcliffe plays the titular comedic singer in the film, which tells the story of his stardom through comedic parodies of various songs.
The film also boasts of an ensemble cast playing various personalities like Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood), Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson), Oprah (Quinta Brunson), etc.
Weird Al said that he and director Eric Appel almost regretted not letting Daniel Radcliffe sing after listening to his impressive voice on the sets. They knew he was a Broadway star and would do the job well.
That was something we agonized over. Eric and I both felt a tinge of regret once we heard Daniel sing. I mean, we knew he was a great singer — he’s a Broadway star. But [on the set], he would sing along with the pre-recorded tracks, and Eric and I would look at each other and go, “Did we make a mistake here?”
There was just one problem that made them stick to their decision. It is almost customary for an actor to lip-sync to the original song in a biopic. The creators thought they’d miss out on this if they let Daniel sing.
Read an excerpt from Weird Al’s interview here:
The trouble always was that it’s a biopic thing for people to be lip-syncing, because it’s good. It was famously done by Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, and we just thought, “That’s kind of the joke here. That’s part of the joke.” But man, Daniel would have killed it either way.
Though there have been many hints suggesting the film’s inspiration to be Bohemian Rhapsody, this is the first time someone from the crew has mentioned it explicitly.
Daniel Radcliffe offered a similar explanation when asked this question. He revealed that if he were to sing the song, it’d have gone against the parodical nature of the film.
In Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek’s lip-syncing as the great Freddie Mercury was one of the major talking points of the movie. Some supported it, saying no one could match Mercury’s talent, while others criticized it.
But the move turned out to be a great success, and the film became a benchmark in its genre.
Making Daniel Radcliffe sing in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story would’ve ruined the lip-syncing joke of the film. The decision has ultimately been a good one, as the movie has gotten excellent reviews from critics and audiences alike.
You can watch the film online, which is now streaming on The Roku Channel.
About Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is an upcoming Roku Original biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe as the Grammy-winning musician “Weird Al” Yankovic. Yankovic and Eric Appel wrote the script with Appel set to direct.
The Al Yankovic Story promises to hold nothing back and explore every facet of his life, from his childhood through his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like “Eat It” and “Like a Surgeon,” while touching on his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.
The musical comedy stars Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, and Quinta Brunson. The film will premiere on Roku Channel on November 4, 2022.
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