Get Your First Look At Evan Rachel Wood As Madonna In The Weird Al Biopic
If you find that you can't "Express Yourself" properly because you've been "Hung Up" over the "Weird Al" Yankovic biopic starring Daniel Radcliffe, now might be the perfect time for you to "Open Your Heart" and get "Into The Groove." As production continues on "WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story," we've just learned that the roles of a certain "Material Girl" and some other key figures from the beloved singer and parodist's life have just been filled.
According to Yankovic himself, four new additions to the cast have just arrived on set for the 14th day of shooting on Eric Appel's upcoming feature film for Roku: Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, and Julianne Nicholson.
Gonna dress you up in my love
Weird Al revealed on Twitter that Wood, of "Westworld" and "True Blood" fame, would be playing the legendary musical icon Madonna in the movie. The comedian has gone to the Queen of Pop's well a few times in his career with polka renditions of "Papa Don't Preach" and "Ray of Light" in medleys on his 1986 album "Polka Party!" and "Running with Scissors" from 1999, respectively. However, it was "Like a Surgeon" that helped solidify Al's extensive career that has endured for four decades. But unlike most of the songs in the "Weird Al" catalogue, Madonna herself came up with the concept and title for this parody. Typically not one to accept ideas from others when it comes to his songs, clearly this one was too good for Al to pass on. He released the song in 1985 and the rest was history. My guess is that Wood has been brought in to recreate this moment with Radcliffe for the film.
It’s SHOOT DAY #14, my friends, and NOW IT CAN BE TOLD: Daniel Radcliffe’s co-stars in #WEIRDTheAlYankovicStory will be Evan Rachel Wood, @rainnwilson, @tobyhuss, and Julianne Nicholson! @TheRokuChannel pic.twitter.com/rwh1OEIMuD
— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) March 2, 2022
After sharing that revelation along with the first look at Wood's Madonna on the bird app, Entertainment Weekly expanded on this casting news by sharing that Wilson ("The Office") would portray Dr. Demento. Also known as Barry Hansen, Demento is a radio personality that rose to prominence in 1970s California. He specializes in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings, so it's only right that he was the one to introduce the world to "Weird Al" Yankovic.
And as for Nicholson ("Mare of Easttown") and Huss ("Dickinson"), they will play the titular character's parents, Mary and Nick Yankovic, who literally introduced Alfred Matthew Yankovic to the world well before he picked up his first accordion or put on his first Hawaiian shirt.
It is currently unknown when "WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story" will be released on Roku, but as production continues, I'm sure that the streamer and the man himself will keep us updated on the latest information.