John le Carré: the 10 best adaptations of his work

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film, 1965)

The rights to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold were snapped up Paramount before the book had even been printed. Its dour feel saturates both a soot-fogged London and nocturnal East Berlin, where the poisonous triple-bluff effected by the British Secret Service, with Alec Lemas (played by a splendidly ranty Richard Burton) as its unknowing pawn, moves inexorably towards its inevitable conclusion.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (TV, 1979)

In between Star Wars films, Alec Guinness’s interpretation of MI6 spymaster George Smiley created another character whose influence lingers (Stephen Rea’s jaded spook in BBC2’s The Honourable Woman was, in effect, Smiley redux). Skilfully navigating Le Carré’s fiendishly complex tale of the hunt for a Soviet mole, it’s a gripping evocation of post-imperial malaise and an exemplar of intelligent, respectful adaptation.

Smiley’s People (TV, 1982)

Skipping The Honourable Schoolboy in favour of the final book in Le Carré’s Karla Trilogy, Guinness won his second Bafta as Smiley, returning to the fray to bring down his KGB nemesis Karla (a sphinx-like Patrick Stewart). Another stately, grown-up riposte to Roger Moore’s Bondian japery, with notable cameos from a host of familiar faces including Eileen Atkins, Bill Paterson and Alan Rickman.

The Night Manager (TV, 2016)

Starry casting, glamorous locations and James Bond comparisons all contributed to making this sleek adaptation - directed by Oscar-winner Susanne Bier - event television around the world. Tom Hiddleston’s ex-soldier is recruited by an intelligence officer (Olivia Colman) to infiltrate the inner circle of arms dealer Dicky Roper: Hugh Laurie on chillingly villainous form. Elizabeth Debicki and Tom Hollander offered sterling support.

The Constant Gardener (film, 2005)

Le Carré’s plot took on Big Pharma and its corrupt dealings testing a supposed cure for tuberculosis in Africa. Ralph Fiennes was ideally cast as oblivious British diplomat Justin Quayle, whose activist wife (Oscar-winning Rachel Weisz) is murdered when she sniffs the truth. It was mounted as a textbook liberal-conscience thriller, with City of God’s Fernando Meirelles pursuing another heart of darkness.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (film, 2012)

A bold move, traipsing on the hallowed territory of a far more spacious TV adaptation. A radical reshuffle of the plot kept edge and surprise in play, but it was Gary Oldman’s career-topping work as George Smiley – all dry-mouthed fatigue and subtle flickers of intuition – which elevated this to a must-see.

A Most Wanted Man (film, 2014)

In the honourable tradition (Guinness, Oldman, Fiennes) of masterly Le Carré star turns, Philip Seymour Hoffman soars in his last great performance, as a German spymaster trying to finesse anti-terror operations the decent way. Keeping a tight lid on the plot, Anton Corbijn makes this wheezing protagonist a wary white king in the midst of a fast unravelling chess game.

The Little Drummer Girl (TV, 2018)

Florence Pugh was utterly compelling in this slow-burn, intricately plotted drama. Her struggling London actress, recruited as a Mossad double agent, made for a mesmerising case study of how espionage muddies identity and relationships, while the higher-ups make devastating calls in service of the long game. South-Korean director Chan-wook Park's series also featured Alexander Skarsgard, Michael Shannon and Charles Dance.

The Complete Smiley (radio, 2009-10)

BBC Radio 4’s ambitious project saw all eight of the Smiley novels translated into 20 hours of audio drama, from the spy’s recruitment into ‘the Circus’ in the 1920s, through working undercover in Nazi Germany, and then coming back out of retirement when the Cold War begins to grip. Simon Russell Beale was an absolute treat as Smiley, as was Anna Chancellor playing his wife - plus turns from Hugh Bonneville,  Ian McDiarmid, Alex Jennings and Geoffrey Palmer.

The Tailor of Panama (film, 2001)

Pierce Brosnan slyly riffed off his Bond persona, playing a disgraced MI6 agent who manipulates a local tailor, Pendel (Geoffrey Rush), into spying on the Panamanian government. Under pressure, Pendel begins “tailoring” his intel, inventing Chinese interest in the canal - and accidentally inciting an invasion. John Boorman’s film emphasises the cynical self-interest and thuggery beneath the suavity of spying games. The cast also features Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Gleeson, Harold Pinter, and Daniel Radcliffe in his big-screen debut.