‘WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story’ Cameos: Here’s a Rundown

WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story opens like the beginning of any biopic — with the birth of our hero. And as the doctor pulls little Weird Al out of the womb, Lin-Manuel Miranda turns to the camera in full doctor’s get-up. In an interview with Wired, Weird Al revealed, “When I first announced … I was doing the movie, within minutes I got a text from Lin-Manuel saying, ‘What do you want me to do in it?’ I was gonna approach him anyway, but the fact that he jumped at the chance was really cool.”

There’s always room for a great comedic podcaster in a parody film, so naturally, Comedy Bang! Bang! host Scott Aukerman had to be included in WEIRD. Considering the fact that in reality, Weird Al was so influenced by comedic radio DJ Dr. Demento, it’s fitting to include a great comedic podcast host of today in the film.

In WEIRD, Al tried to audition his way into a punk band with the accordion, which of course did not go to plan. In the band he auditions for, we recognized Superstore’s Johnny Pemberton and Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Jonah Ray as two of the band’s three members.

WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story director Eric Appel takes a stab at acting as Captain Buffoon, a television show host who ends up loving Weird Al’s first big hit, “My Bologna.” Is Captain Buffoon a real person? The short answer is no. The long answer is also no.

Yes, Weird Al does make an appearance in his own film as record producer Tony Scotti of the Scotti brothers. Al jokingly nods to the fact that he’s the man in the costume when his on-screen brother continues to hilariously insult his music, and he gets visibly uncomfortable, although he’s supposed to agree that his own music sucks.

The Scotti Brothers were a real record company duo back in 1974, and they did eventually pick up Weird Al as an artist. But like any artist’s journey, Weird Al had to prove himself, and Ben Scotti was not so amenable. Watching SNL and Last Man on Earth star Will Forte in the role is a true treat and testament to how funny he can be when still acting seriously.

Unbeknownst to many, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story would have never come to fruition if it weren’t for Patton Oswalt. He connected Eric Appel to Weird Al over a decade ago when they made the initial trailer the film was based on, and actually appeared in the trailer as Dr. Demento. However, when Patton broke his foot shortly before filming (which he discusses in his new comedy special), he was demoted to Heckler.

Funnily enough, the role of the Heckler was supposed to go to Aaron Paul, who played Weird Al in the trailer. “Paul showed up to the set and he tested positive for Covid. He was our one Covid casualty,” Weird Al explained.

Some of us might not know who Michael McKean is, but comedy music fans will recognize him from This Is Spinal Tap, one of the best musical parody comedy films ever made. WEIRD is littered with musical comedy influences and peers, so it would have been a disservice to leave out Michael.

Jorma is known to many as one of the Lonely Island guys, the musical comedy rap band that went mainstream thanks to Saturday Night Live. He appears as Pee-Wee Herman at the celebrity-filled pool party. Originally, Weird Al wanted all three Lonely Island guys to play the three guys from Queen sans Freddie Mercury, but Andy Samberg was unavailable due to “reproducing that month,” according to Al.

Although Andy wasn’t able to make it to the set, another third of Lonely Island, Akiva Schaffer, appeared as the makeup-laden Alice Cooper. “[Akiva] has no dialogue in the movie — that was his idea,” director Eric Appel told Consequence Film. “He was like, ‘I want to come out and do something. I don’t even want any lines.’ I’m like, ‘All right, that’s great.’ He gave me some great reactions.”

Singer Tiny Tim was known for playing the ukulele left-handed and singing in his falsetto voice. Yes, that sounds comedic enough, so why not put stand-up comedian Demetri Martin in the role?

American comedian Gallagher is known for his recognizable mustache as well as his watermelon smashing. So of course, bringing on mustachioed comedic legend Paul F. Tompkins, who fans might recognize from BoJack Horseman and Comedy Bang! Bang!, was a no brainer.

Andy Warhol was the voice of art in the 1980s, and his upper echelon appearance combined with his quirky style make him a perfect character to play for late night personality Conan O’Brien.

Perhaps the only person more absurd than Emo Philips is the character he played in WEIRD, surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. Emo is actually best known for his role in Weird Al’s first film, UHF from 1989, and has recently been touring around to open for Weird Al on his tour.

There was no bigger drag personality in the 1980s than Divine, who many recognize from her role as Edna Turnblad in the original Hairspray film. So of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Nina West was the perfect person to portray her in WEIRD.

Not only do Jack Black and Wolfman Jack share a name, but they both have a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to their charisma. Jack Black fully channels radio DJ Wolfman Jack’s persona in the pool party scene and reminds us why we love him. Plus, as a musical comedy contemporary of Weird Al’s, he had to be included somehow.

Yes, Mexican drug lord Pablo Escobar appears in WEIRD as one of Weird Al’s biggest fans. So production dug deep and found Arturo Castro, who many recognize as Broad City’s Jaime. Perhaps this is a sign that Arturo is coming back in a big way.

While Weird Al and his new girlfriend, Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood), go out to eat, singer Josh Groban hilariously cameos as their waiter. Just imagine, prodigal singer Josh Groban waiting tables for Weird Al and Madonna … the scenario is just funny on its own.

Weird Al’s true life story was full of DJs, so the more DJ cameos he could bring into the film, the better. Comedic actor Seth Green, known for his roles in Rat Race and his voicework in Family Guy, pops up as one of those influential DJs who brings Weird Al’s music to mainstream radio.

There are, of course, even more celebs in the film, from Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna to Julianne Nicholson as Al’s mother, Mary. But they’re not quite cameos in the same way as all these other roles. And even with the film’s star-studded cast, they were able to film it in just 18 days! It just goes to show that anything really is possible, even Weird Al and Madonna taking down the most dangerous drug kingpin in the world.

WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story is now available to stream on the Roku Channel.