Benicio Del Toro has joined 'The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo'.

The 51-year-old actor will act as executive producer on the project, which will tell the story of the life of lawyer and activist Oscar Zeta Acosta, who was the inspiration behind Hunter S. Thompson's Dr. Gonzo character in 1971 novel 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream'.

Phillip Rodriguez, who will helm the project, told Variety: ''We are ecstatic to have Benicio nurturing this project in his role as executive producer.

''Few people can speak to Acosta's humanity and complexity like Benicio, who interpreted him for the big screen with such brilliance. It's really a natural fit.''

Del Toro knows all about Acosta after portraying Dr. Gonzo in 1998 movie 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' alongside Johnny Depp.

Before he started shooting 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', del Toro is said to have gained 45lbs in nine weeks and researched Acosta's life extensively.

Despite spending most of his career in front of the camera, he is also no stranger to executive producing, having done so on 2015 movie 'Viva', which starred Héctor Medina, and 2007 motion picture 'Lovesickness'.

Acosta - who penned novels including 'Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo' - went missing in Mexico in 1974 and was never found.

Del Toro starred as codebreaker DJ in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' in December 2017, and is due to appear as The Collector in 'Avengers: Infinity War' later this year.

He is also set to reprise his role as undercover operative Alejandro Gillick in 'Sicario 2: Soldado', alongside Josh Brolin, in June.