Whenever Mark Strong gets involved in a project my interest increases, and there is news today that he is joining the Tomas Alfredson adaptation of the John Le Carre Cold War thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
There’s been a bit of movement in the assembling of the cast for this film, but the addition of Mark Strong maintains the high quality already set by Colin Firth, Gary Oldman and recently cast Tom Hardy.
But they’ve got some big shoes to fill, not least Oldman who is stepping into a role Sir Alec Guinness made completely his own. Producer Tim Bevan opened up about the project today,
The television drama with Alec Guinness came out in the late Seventies, when we were still ensnarled in the Cold War. Now the Cold War’s gone, we have to recreate itWhat I love about Le Carre is that it’s more about human motivation than whodunit. The reason why somebody betrays their country is personal and passionate.
It has the same sort of resonance that the Forties had, when viewed from the Seventies. This really feels like a rainy, low-tech London.
I’m not an expert on the intelligence game, but I know that there’s still a lot of low-tech employed because if you are a spy, you don’t want to be walking around with your data on a mobile phone or a computer, because it’s traceable and hackable.
It’s reality based, as opposed to James Bond or Mission Impossible, and the thing is, we’re fascinated by the basic nuts and bolts of the tradecraft!
Bevan also dropped the name of Svetlana Khodchenhova, who is up for the role of the Russian spy Irina and confirms that Le Carre is keeping a close eye on things and insisted that the Cold War setting be kept.
The Playlist found the story here*.
*Warning. Daily Mail.
