Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker is about to bring another jazz legend's life story to the big screen.

Whitaker, who portrayed Charlie Parker for director Clint Eastwood in "Bird," will star in and direct a film on jazz great Louis Armstrong.

According to Variety, Whitaker will direct and star in "What a Wonderful World." The trade magazine said that the film will begin shooting in the summer in Louisiana.

Whitaker said that Armstrong "lived an amazing life" and "shifted the way music was played" in the U.S. and around the world.

Armstrong died in 1971 of a heart attack, just one month shy of his 70th birthday.

Whitaker, 47, won a Best Actor Oscar in 2007 for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland." His other film roles include "The Great Debaters," "Vantage Point," "The Crying Game," "Platoon" and "The Color of Money."

The actor's television credits include "The Shield," "ER" and host of modern version of "The Twilight Zone."