Matthew Macfadyen unveiled as George Smiley in 'Legacy of Spies' first look
Matthew Macfadyen is the latest actor to take on John le Carre's iconic spymaster George Smiley, with the BBC and MGM+ unveiling the first look at the “Succession” star in the upcoming series “Legacy of Spies”.
Macfadyen, best known for playing Tom Wambsgans in “Succession” and Mr Darcy in the 2005 adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice”, is seen sporting Smiley's trademark glasses in the newly released image.
The eight-part drama will mark the character's return to television nearly four decades after Alec Guinness first played Smiley in the BBC's 1979 serialisation of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”. Guinness reprised the role in “Smiley's People” in 1982.
Gary Oldman later portrayed the British intelligence officer in the acclaimed 2011 film adaptation of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”. The movie did not lead to a franchise, though Oldman later played another spy in Apple TV+'s adaptation of Mick Herron's novels.
“Legacy of Spies” will also feature Charlie Hunnam as Alec Leamas, the British intelligence officer and protagonist of le Carre's “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”.
Hugh Laurie will play Control, Smiley's morally ambiguous superior.
The series also stars Daniel Bruhl, Devrim Lingnau Islamoglu, Agnes O'Casey, Felix Kammerer, Dan Stevens, Jake Dunn, Anjana Vasan, Charlotte Ritchie and Joe Alwyn.
The drama draws from several of le Carre's works, including “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, “The Honourable Schoolboy” and “A Legacy of Spies”.
Le Carre, regarded as one of the leading post-war writers of espionage fiction, died in 2020 aged 89.
Before turning to writing, he worked for Britain's intelligence services MI5 and MI6 during the 1950s and 1960s.
Several of his novels have been adapted for the screen, including “The Night Manager”, the television series starring Tom Hiddleston, and “The Constant Gardener”, the film featuring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz.
