Aaron Paul was supposed to make a surprise cameo in The Roku Channel's upcoming Weird Al biopic – but had to drop out at the last second.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is loosely based on the 2010 Funny or Die sketch of the same name which starred Paul as the parody singer. The sketch served as a fake trailer for a gritty biopic of Yankovic's life, poking fun at the often overly dramatized nature of artist biopics. Because of his religious upbringing, Yankovic has stayed away from alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, even using profanity – all things that are depicted in the phony trailer. Gary Cole and Mary Steenbergen played the singer's parents, with Olivia Wilde as Madonna and Patton Oswalt as radio personality Dr. Demento.
According to CinemaBlend, Paul was asked to make a small cameo in the new film – but tested positive for COVID-19 on the day he was supposed to show up to set.
"Funny story: Al asked me to do a little cameo in it, and I went to do it, and as I was waiting for my COVID test, they look up at me, and they're like, 'You have COVID.' I'm like, 'What?' They're like, 'Yeah. You tested positive for COVID.' I go, 'Oh, no!'" Paul humorously explained. "So I couldn't do it, and then I was just out for like 10 solid days. I have never felt more sick in my life. And so we couldn't do the cameo, which I just absolutely was crushed about."
In addition to Daniel Radcliffe taking over the role of Weird Al, Evan Rachel Wood is set to play Madonna alongside Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento.
As the film is produced by Funny or Die, we're still not sure if it follows a mockumentary format and puts a comedically dramatic spin on the singer's life.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is slated for a late 2022 release. For more, check out our list of upcoming movies in 2022.
