Christoph Waltz is set to star in and make his directorial debut on 'The Worst Marriage in Georgetown'.

The 58-year-old actor will be starring as Albrecht Muth in the crime drama, based on a New York Times Magazine article about a true story.

Muth is an eccentric social climber who seduced and married a wealthy older widow, Viola Drath.

Muth and Drath entered the top political circles as they threw lavish events, with Muth lying extensively about his background - which came to light after Drath was found murdered in 2011 at their home in Georgetown.

Muth was 26 when he married the 71-year-old Drath in 1971. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison last year.

Voltage Pictures has come aboard to fully finance and produce the picture, which will be sold at Cannes, and production is set to start on 12 October.

Waltz is going to be seen next in James Bond film 'Spectre'.

Although he is now an Academy Award winner and an actor in demand, he has seen his career fluctuate over the years and admits he found the lulls in his working life hard to deal with.

He previously said: ''There were depressed moments and there was depression but not of a kind that needed to be medicated or hospitalised. But it is bloody depressing when you try to get on with the work and it just doesn't ... People cut you dead. They don't even greet you. They ignore you.''