Former "Saturday Night Live" star Eddie Murphy may portray one of the country’s most infamous political figures: former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

If the project moves ahead, Murphy will be portraying Barry for an HBO Films biopic, which is in development with Spike Lee attached to direct, the piece notes.

Murphy, Lee and writer John Ridley would also serve as executive producers for the project, the story adds.

Barry, who currently is a member of Washington’s City Council, was caught in January 1990 smoking crack cocaine at a hotel and was arrested on drug charges, the piece notes. Barry, who was mayor at the time of his arrest, served six months in prison.