Tom Hiddleston to play country singer Hank Williams in new biopic I Saw the Light

The Avengers star will be flexing his vocal chords in the new film

Thor actor Tom Hiddleston will depict Hank Williams' rise to fame (Getty Images)

Thor star Tom Hiddleston is to play iconic country and western star Hank Williams in a new biopic.

The 33-year-old British actor will star in the Marc Abraham-directed I Saw the Light, based on Colin Escott’s biography of the American singer-songwriter, Deadline reported.

The film is set to recount Williams’ rise to fame and the impact on his personal life, up until his death from heart failure aged 29.

Filming is scheduled to start in Louisiana in October – but The Avengers actor is sure to be warming up his vocal chords before then as Sony ATV has granted the film’s backers the rights to Williams’ songs.

Hiddleston will be warbling classics including “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” and “Hey Good Lookin’”.

A co-production between RatPac Entertainment, Bron Studios and Creative Wealth Media Finance, the movie will be produced by Aaron L Gilbert, Brett Ratner, G Marq Rosell and Abraham. James Packer, the partner of Ratner, will work as executive producer.

Abram’s past films include Spy Game, Dawn of the Dead, and The Children of Men.

Eton and Cambridge-educated Hiddleston has also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.