One of the most prominent U.S. politicians of the past few decades is the focus of a production that’s getting under way for HBO. The pay-cable channel announced that production is beginning on a documentary about six-term senior Arizona Sen. John McCain.

McCain reportedly agreed to participate in the project, from Kunhardt Films, shortly after he was diagnosed with brain cancer. McCain is said to be providing unprecedented access to his daily life in Washington, D.C. and Sedona, Ariz.

The project is produced and directed by six-time Emmy winner Peter Kunhardt (HBO’s “Jim: The James Foley Story,” “King in the Wilderness”), along with Emmy winners George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt.

“This sweeping account combines the senator’s own voice, culled from original interviews, commentary and speeches, with archival newsreel and television footage and previously unseen home movies and photographs,” HBO notes. “What emerges is a portrait of an American maverick who has kept his eye on on the most important American goals.”

“Through the years, John has rightly earned the reputation as an American hero,” says Peter Kunhardt. “In the final chapter of his life, he is reminding this generation of what government can and should look like.”

Kunhardt Films’ previous HBO credits include the recent “King in the Wilderness,” the Emmy winner “Jim: The James Foley Story,” the PGA nominee “The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee,” “Becoming Warren Buffett,” the Emmy nominee “Nixon by Nixon: In His Own Words,” the Emmy nominee “Gloria: In Her Own Words” and the Emmy winner “Teddy: In His Own Words.”