Tom Hardy (19 page)

What did Tom make of being directed by one of his acting idols? ‘On one hand, nothing could be more satisfying. But it is also difficult to deal with a guy who could do it so well himself,' he explained. The triumvirate of Hardy, Hoffman and Leonard proved an effective union and the play was positively received by Chicago's theatre critics. The
Chicago Tribune
hailed the work as ‘intensely atmospheric' and called Leonard a ‘fascinating and authentic writer'. The
Chicago Daily Herald
singled out Tom as giving a ‘gritty, true performance'.

Two important film roles were just around the corner for Tom and would consolidate his position as the rising star in the Hollywood firmament. Plus, he was about to have the chance to star alongside another of his acting heroes.

B
y the time
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
hit UK cinemas in September 2011, there had been a long hiatus for fans awaiting their next glimpse of Tom Hardy in a new film role. As it turned out, this month would prove to be an embarrassment of riches as, the week following the release of
Tinker
also saw the opening of
Warrior
, a film in which Tom was to play a mixed martial arts fighter. Both films would garner a great deal of critical attention: in the former, Tom was part of a classy ensemble of British actors performing in one of the nation’s best-loved spy stories; in the other, he would be afforded more of the spotlight as he proved his mettle in a supremely transformational role. The chameleon actor was showing once again that he could slip in and out of utterly contrasting roles with apparent ease.

The novel on which
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
is based – and follows faithfully in style and spirit, though not structure –
was written by John Le Carré and first published in 1974. John Le Carré is the pen name of David Cornwell who, in his own words, is ‘a writer who, when I was very young, spent a few ineffectual but extremely formative years in British Intelligence’. The first three of Le Carré’s novels were written while he was still in the pay of the secret service but, in 1964, he gave up his intelligence career to become a full-time writer. His spy novels are widely considered to be some of the best of the 20th century.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
features George Smiley, a spy who had been introduced to readers in previous books but who, in this story, takes centre stage. The plot concerns the discovery of a mole in the upper echelons of British Intelligence and the quest to root him out. It is Smiley who is called out of retirement to take on the task. The action takes place in the 1970s and, in order to build up the full picture that leads to the discovery of the traitor, characters recall events from their pasts in a complex series of flashbacks. Although this makes for an intricate and sometimes complicated narrative, it also gives the story a rich, layered feel, reflecting the maze of information that Smiley has to navigate before he reaches the truth.

Le Carré remembers how, in the early drafts of the book, he tried – without success – to make the story work without the flashback structure. Realising it wasn’t working to his satisfaction, he took his manuscript into the garden and burned it. The phoenix that rose from the ashes was the book we have come to know and love and which has gone down as a classic.

Adapting such a well-loved book for the screen was not
going to be an easy task. Not only would the film have to contend with the scrutiny of fans of the novel, it would also have to stand up to comparison with the fondly remembered 1979 BBC TV series starring the late and revered Alec Guinness in the leading role. To so many viewers, Alec Guinness had been the quintessential Smiley and it would be hard to find an actor who could equal or better his performance.

By June 2010, it became clear that the film adaptation of
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
was more than just a rumour and would be going into production. In early reports, there were several high-profile actors linked to the movie but, as is so often the case, not all of them ended up on the final call sheet. Names who were originally attached but who, for whatever reason were never finally cast, included Ralph Fiennes, David Thewlis and Tom’s fellow former Drama Centre student, Michael Fassbender. It was Fassbender, in fact, who was slated to play Ricki Tarr, the role that would eventually be filled by Tom. Always one to appreciate that the career of an actor relies upon good fortune as well as talent, Tom made no secret of the fact that he was not the original choice for the part. ‘I got lucky to be in this film because it was Michael Fassbender’s part and he couldn’t make it, so I’m grateful for that,’ he told ITN.

The character of Ricki Tarr is pivotal to the unfolding of the story. We meet Tarr, a disgraced field operative and former gun-runner, as he returns to Britain following an absence in Turkey (a change of location from the book, in which he returns from Hong Kong). Tarr has new information about the mole within the Secret Service (The Circus) who is passing information to the Russians. His information confirms and
builds on suspicions earlier raised by the former head of The Circus, Control (in this adaptation played by John Hurt). Tarr’s information starts the chain of events which sees Smiley retrace the past in order to lead him to the traitor, one of his former colleagues.

While the film is not an action spy thriller in the mould of James Bond or the Bourne series, Tarr is about the closest a character comes to having Bond-style adventures. He is a rogue and a ladies’ man and Hardy was interested in the way his character differed from the other secret service types in the film. Against their drab buttoned-up natures, Tarr provides (in the film at least, and thanks to Tom Hardy’s performance) a splash of colour and emotion. While Smiley is characterised by the repression of his feelings, Tarr’s are on display from the outset as he recalls his encounters with Russian defector and lover Irina. The character is a wild card, but Tom’s performance gave him some heart. Whilst admitting to never having read the book or seen the television series, Tom claimed he had formed his opinions about the story and the characters from his father, who was familiar with both. When speaking about Tarr, Tom has said he differed from other characters he had recently been playing because his vulnerabilities are on display from the outset – his performances as ‘harder’ characters had been more nuanced, with him having to find the light within the shade. Speaking to MSN, with his trademark wit he described this process as being like building ‘a case around the soft centre – a bit like a Lindt chocolate.’

In the end, aside from Tom, the final cast list read like a who’s who of the cream of British acting. Smiley himself
would be played by Gary Oldman, Bill Haydon by Colin Firth, Jim Prideaux by Mark Strong, Control by John Hurt and Peter Guillam by Benedict Cumberbatch. Kathy Burke would play Connie Sachs. The biggest challenge would be for Oldman, who would have to both differentiate his Smiley from that of Alec Guinness while at the same time paying his respects to the actor who had become so inextricably linked to the character.

Oldman, an extremely accomplished actor but one more recently associated with his roles in rather more fantastical productions such as
Harry Potter
and the
Batman
series, acknowledged that he would be judged in the shadow of Guinness’s performance but maintained that an actor couldn’t afford to let himself be haunted by previous incarnations of a character, however acclaimed they are. ‘The ghost of Guinness was there,’ he said. ‘But you have to approach it like an actor would a classical role. If you do Hamlet, you’ve got the ghost of John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Richard Burton, but you can’t let that get in the way.’

Smiley is described in Le Carré’s book thus: ‘Small, podgy and at best middle-aged, he was by appearance one of London’s meek who do not inherit the earth.’ He is, in appearance, unremarkable and would be the kind of person you would walk past on the street and not give a second glance – the perfect demeanour for a spy. This characteristic proved to be pivotal for Gary Oldman when it came to understanding Smiley. ‘You’re a bit like a nowhere man,’ he commented to Baz Bamigboye of the
Daily Mail
. When it came to unlocking Smiley, Oldman also had a little help from a primary source in the form of John Le Carré. The pair met
and Oldman drew on the former spy for inspiration: ‘The voice is the signature of the character and really there’s a lot of David in Smiley, so I nicked his voice.’

A lot of the news relating to the film indicated that it was going to be very much a European affair, with a large proportion of British input. The production company behind it was to be Working Title, which had scored a number of Brit hits including
Bridget Jones’
Diary
and
Four Weddings and a Funeral
. Originally, Peter Morgan (the man responsible for the screenplay of
The Queen
) was rumoured to be the screenwriter but, in the end, the job went to husband and wife writing team Peter Straughan and Bridget O’Connor (sadly, Bridget O’Connor would pass away before the film was released.) Refreshingly – and unusually – the production was able to steer clear of any Hollywood involvement, having been financed by French company StudioCanal.

Another European element of the team was the Danish director Tomas Alfredson. Alfredson had recently made a name for himself with the vampire horror movie
Let the Right One In
, which was admired by critics and loved by film fans. It was noted for its atmospheric feel and pared-down style – but was a director who was noted for his success in the horror genre the right choice for this film? Speaking to
The Spectator
, Alfredson noted that ‘horror’ is something that is of the mind, not necessarily in the action taking place: ‘Horror is 90 per cent inside people. The gap between reality and what’s happening in their mind – that’s what creates the horror.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
is a horror precisely because you do not know how far the conspiracies and lies stretch – it could be much worse than you think.’

There is no doubt that Alfredson turned out to be the perfect choice for the film. True, his previous film had been a contrast but his style of direction was spot on in creating the right kind of atmosphere for the Cold War thriller. Gary Oldman offered his thoughts on how Alfredson’s quiet, unfussy approach to filming had been key in creating the right atmosphere for
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
: ‘It was as if he was eavesdropping, like a peeping Tom, which is what you sort of want for a spy film,’ he commented.

With this outstanding team in place, filming got underway. As well as being filmed in London, location filming took place in Budapest and Istanbul. For Tom Hardy fans, a glimpse of him in character on set would come to light in March 2011. Photographed leaving his trailer, the ever-familiar tattoos were on display but there was a shocking new hairdo in evidence. Tom’s usual locks had been replaced by a blond,
ill-kempt
seventies-style wig, which provided a clue as to how the character of Ricki Tarr was to be styled in the film. Speaking about the wig, Hardy revealed that it was modelled on Paul Hogan’s hair in
Crocodile Dundee
. He also said that some scenes had required re-shooting with a toned-down wig as the first one had been, in his words, ‘really fierce.’ Hilariously, he also referred to sporting the wig as having ‘a ferret’ taped to his head.

Being a period piece, a great deal of care and attention went into the styling of all of the characters in the film. The person responsible for this important task was costume designer Jacqueline Durran, who had received acclaim for the stunning green evening dress worn by Keira Knightley in
Atonement
. One vital piece of wardrobe would, of course, be Smiley’s
overcoat. It is described by his creator as having ‘a hint of widowhood about it’ and that ‘either the sleeves were too long or his arms too short for… when he wore his mackintosh, the cuffs all but concealed the fingers…’ The article chosen to be Smiley’s outer garment in the film was an Aquascutum raincoat, apparently inspired by a photograph of Graham Greene which Alfredson gave to Durran. Smiley’s glasses were also crucial to the character and many pairs were experimented with until it was Oldman himself who found the perfect pair in Los Angeles.

According to the
Observer
, which featured an article about the costume design for the film, Tom’s character had ‘the most interesting wardrobe’ and it’s fair to say that, amongst the sombre suits and muted colours, Ricki’s clothes do stand out, in particular the sheepskin coat he is often seen swaggering about in. ‘He is out shooting people, so we wanted him to be this manly action person. The first person we turned to was Steve McQueen,’ Durran told the newspaper. Benedict Cumberbatch had his own take on Tom’s look in the film. Speaking to the
Observer Magazine,
he joked: ‘Tom did
Starsky and Hutch
via
The Sweeney
and I got the suits.’

Of course, much was being made of the stellar cast that the film had attracted. Many of them award-winners and all of them highly acclaimed, it was refreshing to read reports of both the high regard in which they held each other and also the rapport which emerged amongst them on set. Though Tom’s star was undoubtedly already in the ascendant before
Tinker
came along, he was still appreciative of what an incredible opportunity it was to be part of something which had attracted such immense acting talent. ‘All the other guys
that were in it, all the big boys, the John Hurts and the Gary Oldmans and the superheroes – to be able to work with them at all is incredible – it’s like being a part of a huge slab of Italian marble in a beautiful kitchen.’

In particular, he was in awe of Gary Oldman, who he has often referred to as one of his acting heroes, even going as far as to admit that in the roles he had played thus far such as Stuart Shorter and Bronson, he had wanted to emulate what Gary had done before him. When they first met, Tom admits that he was star-struck by the older actor and remained so until he had grown accustomed to being in his presence. He also tells a heart-warming anecdote about the first scenes they had to shoot together. In the original scenes, Tom was sporting a beard which, it was later decided, was not appropriate for the character. During the initial shoot, he was so busy observing the way his idol worked that he became distracted from his own part and his performance didn’t play out as he had intended it to. To Tom’s relief, the scenes were re-shot minus the beard, and by the time of the re-shoot he’d had time to get used to the experience of working with the actor he had always held in such high regard.