John le Carré: author, actor, soldier, spy

From Sidney Lumet’s 1966 The Deadly Affair to Anton Corbijn’s more recent A Most Wanted Man, John Le Carré’s backlist has provided a host of memorable movie adaptations. Going one step further, the master of the spy genre has announced he will appear in an adaptation of one of his novels. Le Carré is set to make a cameo appearance in the BBC adaptation of his book The Night Manager starring Tom Hiddleston. Centred on the story of a former British soldier who tries to infiltrate the arms trade, the mini-series also stars Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman and Tom Hollander. It is the first television adaptation of a Le Carré novel in more than 20 years, with filming beginning this spring and scheduled for broadcast in 2016. It is not Le Carré’s first cameo, however, with the author appearing briefly in the Christmas party scene of Tomas Alfredson’s 2011 hit Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.