Evan Rachel Wood plays the one and only Madonna in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. The Westworld actress transforms into the “Material Girl” icon. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Evan, who admitted that learning how to Vogue was the toughest part of her transformation. “It’s very specific,” Evan said. “That was a new thing I learned.”
The actress has been a longtime fan of Madonna, but she really dove headfirst into preparing for this role. “I’ve been listening to her since I was a kid. But to prepare for this, I just devoured every interview of hers from the early ’80s — every music video, every live performance,” Evan told HollywoodLife at the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story NYC premiere.
She continued, “I wanted to just take it as much as I could and really get the voice down. That was going to be one thing that was really going to sell it and the mannerisms, her hands, or just like little things that she does here and there.”
Evan stars alongside Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Weird Al. Over the years, the real Weird Al has become a comedy icon and has encouraged his listeners to march to the beat of their own drums.
“I’ve listened to Weird Al since I was a kid, and I think that’s always been the message,” Evan said. “The more you lean into who you really are, I think the more your light’s going to shine on you. You don’t have to conform. You don’t have to be who everybody expects you to be. He’s been the beacon of weirdness for all of us nerds, so happy to have him and to be a part of it.”
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story also stars Rainn Wilson, Julianne Nicholson, and Toby Huss. The movie will be available exclusively on The Roku Channel starting November 4.