S Poddar
Matthew Macfadyen will be playing George Smiley in a new television series based on John le Carré’s classic novels. The series, Legacy of Spies, is being made by the late author’s sons and will feature plotlines from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Honourable Schoolboy.
As per accounts of Variety and Deadline, the 50-year-old actor from Succession will be playing the role of Smiley. Unpublished work from le Carré, whose full name was David Cornwell, will also find space in the show. The acclaimed author, who died at the age of 89 in 2020, was influenced by his period in British intelligence working in the 1950s and 60s in developing his masterful spy fiction.
The Ink Factory, established by le Carré’s sons, Stephen and Simon Cornwell, will produce. The company has already produced the hit adaptation of The Night Manager and is working on two sequel series for the show.
Macfadyen, best known for playing Tom Wambsgans in Succession and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, will take his place alongside the other fine actors to have played Smiley, including Gary Oldman, Rupert Davies, Alec Guinness, and Denholm Elliott. Smiley is described as a middle-aged, plump, balding man with a modest bearing who is superb as a spymaster for British intelligence during the Cold War.
In Call for the Dead, le Carré portrayed Smiley as, “Short, fat, and of a quiet disposition, he appeared to spend a lot of money on really bad clothes, which hung about his squat frame like skin on a shrunken toad.” Macfadyen’s 1.91-meter height is contrary to this description, but his acting ability is supposed to animate the depth of the character.
Le Carré complimented Alec Guinness’s acting in the 1979 version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the 1982 follow-up Smiley’s People, saying that Guinness “so beautifully represented Smiley and left the character intact.” He also complimented Oldman’s “beautiful performance” in the 2011 screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
But a sequel featuring Oldman was said to have been blocked by le Carré’s sons. Oldman’s agent, Douglas Urbanski, said in September that attempts to work with the author’s sons were unsuccessful. “We’ve approached … le Carré’s sons and – the blasted thing – they have no interest in Gary reprising Smiley. I don’t know why,” Urbanski said.
The new series, Legacy of Spies, seems to be the cause of this move. Variety states that the show has already attracted interest from prospective buyers in the US and UK. Through Macfadyen’s acting, the series will delve into the complex world of espionage that le Carré so skillfully created.
Macfadyen’s acting ability and range make him the perfect candidate for the role, and viewers are looking forward to seeing what his take on the cryptic spymaster is. Produced in association with The Ink Factory and le Carré’s sons, the show should do justice to the legacy of one of the greatest espionage writers of all time.
