Fans of English spy novelist John le Carré can rejoice. His 1974 novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is being made into a feature film. The novel is one of several that has the character of George Smiley at the centre. The role was memorably portrayed by Alec Guinness in the 1979 BBC television adaptation. Now Gary Oldman is taking on le Carré’s most famous creation.
George Smiley is a middle-aged, intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is called back to the job in order to hunt down a Soviet mole in the “Circus”, the highest echelon of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service.
The rest of the cast includes Colin Firth, Ciarin Hinds, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch; one might describe them as the most cracking collection of Brit acting talent you’ll see outside of a Harry Potter movie.
The film is helmed by Swedish director Tom Alfredson (LET THE RIGHT ONE IN) and is set in the early 1970s. TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY will open in Australia in October.
