The Fox music drama “Empire” is bringing aboard an actor with a load of awards hardware. The network announced today that Forest Whitaker will join the show this fall in a multi-episode arc.

“Whitaker will play ‘Uncle Eddie,’ a charismatic music icon and bonafide hitmaker, who gave an unknown Lucious (Terrence Howard) his first radio airplay,” Fox says in the announcement. “Decades later, Eddie steps up for Lucious at a critical moment during his rehabilitation, and a grateful Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) invites him to produce a song in celebration of Empire Entertainment’s 20th anniversary.”

Whitaker is an Oscar winner and a Golden Globe winner for his lead performance in “The Last King of Scotland,” and also has a Golden Globe nomination for “Bird” along with an Emmy as a producer on the TV movie “Door to Door.” He has a long string of movie credits, including “Platoon,” “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai” and “The Butler.”

Whitaker has also kept busy with guest roles on TV, including earning an Emmy nomination for an appearance on “ER.”

“Empire”  returns Wednesday, Sept. 27, at a new time, 8 p.m.

Please click here to read the full announcement from Fox.