Jamie Foxx to play Frank Sinatra

Jamie Foxx is set to play Frank Sinatra in a new biopic.

The Oscar-winning star - who played jazz musician Ray Charles in 'Ray' - is being lined up to portray the legendary Rat Pack singer in a film by Martin Scorsese after film bosses saw similarities between the two stars' backgrounds.

A source said: "Cool is colour-blind. Jamie would seem to be born to the role.

"Magnificent singing voice, totally convincing acting ability, like Frank himself, born the wrong side of the tracks, rags to riches, makes it big against the odds, has his brushes with authority. The guy's a gift."

George Clooney, Justin Timberlake, Harry Connick Jr. and Leonardo DiCaprio are also believed to be in the running for the role, but it is expected to go to 41-year-old Jamie, who was adopted by his strict Baptist grandparents and raised in a racially-segregated area of Texas.

'My Way' singer Frank - who won 11 Grammy awards and also appeared in several films before his death in 1998 aged 82 - was raised in New Jersey by Italian immigrants.

The FBI were said to have a 2,500 page file on the star because of his rumoured links to the Mafia.