Which 2006 biographical film about Idi Amin stars Forest Whitaker?

The 2006 biographical film about Idi Amin starring Forest Whitaker is The Last King of Scotland.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, the film portrays Ugandan dictator Idi Amin through the viewpoint of Nicholas Garrigan, a fictional young Scottish doctor played by James McAvoy. Forest Whitaker plays Amin, whose rule from 1971 to 1979 was marked by political repression, mass killings, and a deeply cultivated public persona.

The screenplay, by Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan, is adapted from Giles Foden’s 1998 novel. Although the film is based on real Ugandan history, Garrigan is not a real historical figure; he functions as a fictional witness through whom the audience encounters Amin’s court and dictatorship. The title refers to Amin’s bizarre claim that he was the “King of Scotland.”

Whitaker’s performance won the Academy Award for Best Actor and was widely praised for combining Amin’s charm, theatricality, menace, and volatility. The Constant Gardener is set largely in Kenya and concerns a pharmaceutical conspiracy, while Hotel Rwanda focuses on the 1994 genocide. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2006 and became a major international success.