The upcoming Madonna biopic found its lead earlier this year with Ozark star Julia Garner. The actress beat several competitors, including Florence Pugh, Sydney Sweeney, and Alexa Demie. However, one actress may have been overlooked, Evan Rachel Wood. The 35-year-old actress is set to play the Queen of Pop in the upcoming film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
The movie, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Black, and Quinta Brunson, is due to release this Friday, and Wood can’t wait to show off her performance. Though Weird is essentially a parody of biopics, the actress took her portrayal seriously, claiming she studied interviews from the 80s to get a better feel for what the singer was like nearly 40 years ago. During an interview with /Film, Wood discusses her process while she prepared to play Madonna and why she enjoyed her time on the Weird set.
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“I did watch a lot of her early ’80s interviews, because she’s evolved and changed so much. I tried to focus on the time period that we were doing for accuracy. So, yeah, I watched a lot of her interviews and how she was in a conversation, how she carried herself, her mannerisms. It was a real treat for me, because I got to revisit a lot of the incredible Madonna material and be reminded what a genius she’s always been. I think the main thing I had to get over and work on was just her — I feel like a nerd sometimes and [I’m] sometimes modest. And she is just fully confident, completely self-assured. She is controlling every room that she’s in. So that was a switch I had to lean into and flip, I think.”
Evan Rachel Wood Said She Wants to Connect With Madonna
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Though Weird may not be a biopic focused on her character, Evan Rachel Wood says she still would love to meet Madonna if she got the chance. The film will focus on the outlandish sides of all the celebrities involved with Weird, and the portrayal of Madonna may not be completely spot on to the reality of the 80s. However, it was still essential to give an authentic performance. During an interview with Access Hollywood, the star commented on her time with the film and why she wants to hear Madonna’s opinion on the movie.
“At this point, yes, I hope I hear from her at all because everybody keeps asking ‘what do you think Madonna is going to say,’” Wood explained. “She’s either going to think it’s really, really funny and laugh or she’ll be like, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Which would also be great because she is Madonna.”
When the film releases, fans can see Julianne Nicholson, Patton Oswalt, Rainn Wilson, Thomas Lennon, and several others, along with the leading stars. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story arrives on the Roku Channel later this week, Friday, Oct. 4.
