Gary Oldman may be Cast as George Smiley in Film Adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The Daily Mail is reporting that Gary Oldman is in negotiations to play Cold War spy George Smiley in the film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré. Originally published in 1974, it was the fifth book to feature the British agent and the first of the so-called "Karla Trilogy".

Sir Alec Guinness previously played the character in a multi-part BBC series, which aired in 1979.

About Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (from the publisher): It is now beyond doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.