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"  Tom Hiddleston better get practicing his Alabama accent \u2013 the 33-year-old British actor is set to play country icon Hank Williams in a new film about his life. Based on the biography written by Colin Escott, George Merritt and William MacEwan, it will focus on Williams&amp;#039; influential career as one of most beloved singers of the South. After leaving school aged 14 to pursue a music career, Williams rose to fame with his band the Drifting Cowboys before he lost many of his performers to conscription in World War II. Despite his short life (he died from alcohol and drug abuse aged 29) his legacy has been long-lasting, with musicians including Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash covering his songs. Some commentators have descried the decision to cast a British actor as an American music icon, but rest assured Hiddleston is going to master both the Alabama accent and the music, too, with the rights to many of Williams&amp;#039; songs (including Hey Good Lookin&amp;#039;, Your Cheatin&amp;#039; Heart and I&amp;#039;m So Lonesome I Could Cry) already secured. Shortly after the news broke, Hiddleston shared this picture on his Twitter account, showing him in quintessential county garb \u2013 namely cowboy hat and boots, wielding a guitar. He captioned it I Saw The Light \u2013 the title of the film.    I Saw The Light. pic.twitter.com/LBSiP5tBVb \u2014 Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) June 13, 2014    Let&amp;#039;s hope this does for Hiddleston&amp;#039;s career what Walk The Line did for Joaquin Phoenix. Via HarpersBazaar.co.uk "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/news/a2565/tom-hiddleston-hank-williams/>