Doctor Who star David Tennant is to make his US television debut with a role that he hopes could help him to crack America.

Tennant has been cast as the lead character in Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, a new hour-long pilot for NBC. He will play Rex Alexander, a top Chicago lawyer who suffers from panic attacks and has to coach his clients to represent themselves in court.

NBC has high hopes for the pilot, which could be made into a series if it goes down well with audiences.

Executives gave the project the green light two years ago and have spent months searching for the right actor, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It will be directed and executive produced by David Semel, who directed the pilot for Heroes, which was later turned into a hit show.

Tennant has been one of the most popular Time Lords in the history of Doctor Who. When he appeared in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet last year, tickets for the London run sold out in under three hours.

He will bow out of Doctor Who early next year, to be replaced by Matt Smith.

Tennant, 38, will be hoping to emulate the success of Hugh Laurie, another British actor who was little known to US audiences when he moved to Hollywood. Laurie’s role as Dr Gregory House in the medical drama House has made him a star across the Atlantic and garnered two Golden Globes.

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