Ang Lee quit TV directing duties on the new series “Tyrant.” The Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee quit the U.S. series because he says he needs to get some rest after spending four years working on the acclaimed 3D fantasy-adventure film “Life of Pi.” Ang Lee said he was fatigued from the happy ordeal of making the Oscar-winning film.

Ang Lee says all the movies he makes are a leap of faith for him, but faith wasn’t enough to keep his interest in the drama series he signed on to direct for the cable network FX in March. Lee, 58, was brought in to direct the pilot episode shortly after he won the Best Director Oscar statue for helming “Life of Pi.”

In a statement, Lee said “It is one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I've seen and one about which I was very excited. However, after spending over four years making and promoting Life of Pi, I have recently realised that I need some rest."

“Tyrant” would have marked the first time the Taiwanese-born director worked in television.

The FX series, “Tyrant” is about an American family that is pulled into the intrigue of a an unstable Middle Eastern nation. “Tyrant” is produced by Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff. The same team that produces the Emmy-winning counter-terrorism thriller, “Homeland,” for Showtime.

Ang Lee is the first person of Asian descent to win an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Director. He is the only director who has won two Best Film Awards (Golden Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival. Lee has made a name for directing a such diverse films as “Eat Drink Man Woman” in 1994, “Sense and Sensibility” in 1995, the martial arts masterpiece that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in 2000 and “Hulk” in 2003. Lee won two Academy Awards for Best Director: “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005 and 2012’s “Life of Pi.”

FX has not made any comment.