A portion of this image actually debuted back in November 2010, but I have finally received the full-sized look at Gary Oldman as George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which will be distributed by Universal Pictures later this year and is expected to be an Oscar contender, at least based on the cast.
Alongside Oldman, the film co-stars Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, Stephen Graham, Benedict Cumberbatch and David Dencik and is under the direction of Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In).
The screenplay was penned by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare at Goats) based on John le Carre’s Cold War spy novel. The story is set in the 1970s and centers on George Smiley (Oldman), a recently retired MI6 agent, is doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the MI6, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage.
As far as the role of other cast members are concerned, I know Tom Hardy (Inception) will play an acquaintance of Smiley’s as he replaced Michael Fassbender in the film when Fassbender left the project for X-Men: First Class. Strong will play Jim Prideaux, an MI6 agent shot in the back during the failed Operation Testify early on in the story. Prideaux’s testimony is a key part of the revelation that there’s a mole in the highest echelons of the British Secret Service and he, along with Smiley, tries to smoke out the double agent.
I don’t know about you, but it’s nice to see Oldman with a nice, meaty, meaningful role rather than all the lackluster sideshows he’s been seen in lately. However, his voicework as the villainous Lord Shen in this weekend’s Kung Fu Panda 2 is the best thing about the animated sequel.
You can get a larger look at the above image right here.
