Short interview with Michael Jayston on his role as Peter Guillam in the 1979 miniseries Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Aired in January 2023 on BBC Four as a retrospective celebration of the series and BBC.
RIP dear Michael, just heard the news. So much enjoyed whomever you played in your infrequent appearances on our screens. But every appearance was such a solid performance. Condolences to your family. You shall be missed.
What?! Oh, fuck. I was wanting somehow to get a message to him to let him know what a legend he is--was--as the narrator of so many le Carré books. For my money quite possibly the greatest narrator there ever was. I have all the audiobooks and listen to at least of few of them again and again every year.
Michael Jayston is a crown jewel of the British actors 😊👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏😄 His voice…his style is a great contribution of the quality if English actors…pure quality…and…eloquent….brilliant actor indeed 😊👍👍😉
I’m extremely curious why he didn’t narrate The Night Manager? Anyone who suffered through Davis’ interpretation understands the question. A redo wouldn’t hurt sales, believe me.
Here, here. Michael Jayston’s narration of Le Carré’s novels is utterly unsurpassed. I have gotten so much more out of the books by listening to Michael Jayston than I have on my own. I wish he did more of it with other authors.
I saw this for the first time more than 40 years ago and, other than Smiley’s People, nothing else has come close. Thank you, Michael, for this stunning performance, and for sharing your memories of behind-the-scenes anecdotes. I still watch this from time to time and the enjoyment never fades!
Watched TTSS when it was broadcast on American PBS - one of the best BBC series I can recall. Almost 45 years later it's great to see Mr. Jayston still with us. He was a really cool character in the series.
Mr Jayston, you should be proud of your work on "Tinker, Tailor." There was no reason to remake the story and I refuse to watch the new version. Thank you for sharing your stories and insights on working with the great cast of this miniseries.
I saw both and feel both have greatness in them. There is economy, action, and great period set design in the film. But the series took its time and respected the novel. At the end of the day, the series is a lot of people walking and talking, sitting in rooms and talking, etc. So I understand the need of the film to insert action. Some people coming in unschooled to the film come to the end confused, which is a failing, for sure. I just saw the series again and loved Bannen and Richardson's performances, as well as Jayston's. Great work all around
So good to hear from Michael Jayston . Tinker Tailor is unsurpassed in the history of TV , except , perhaps, by Smiley's People . But Michael Byrne was asked to do the impossible and as good and admirably able as he was , Peter Guillam had been cast in bronze and it was a thankless task . And Ian Bannon was , sorry Alec , great as Jim Prideaux . I've probably watched each series 20 times and they simply don't age or disappoint . Thank you Michael Jayston for the great enjoyment you have given me over the years.
I loved this interview. I am a great admirer of Michael Jayston’s performance in TTSS and have several close friends who equally enjoy this cult classic. I thought Michael Byrne did an excellent job in Smiley’s People but it was a very different Peter Guillam. Michael Jayston had a rapport with AG in the series. I cannot read TTSS without hearing the actors’ voices. Of course, hearing it read by Michael Jayston is a pleasure that I shall return to so long as his narration of Le Carré’s works is available. Ultra, ultra great job! Thank you so much!
Thanks a million for this one! Michael Jayston in Tinker Tailor...Ah! I loved him in Peter's role❤. The other role he did marvelously is of the jealous husband Charles in Follow Me! Those were the days of my youth too!
Michael Jayston's reading of the Karla trilogy for Audible books is masterful, superb. With his command of the material and the various voices of the characters, it's very much like listening to a play.
It's been an unexpected gift watching this video interview. Mr. Jayston's assessment of working on "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was perfectly recalled for us.
A masterpiece. I've lost count of the amount of times I've watched TTSS. There isn't a single shot or line of dialogue wasted or out of place, the casting so good it honestly sometimes seems to border on the supernatural. The tone, the pace, the score, the sets and locations, all pitch perfect. Some of the finest theatrical and televisual talent Britain has ever produced all giving it absolutely everything they've got. Only ever equalled by Smiley's People and, in my humble opinion, recently with HBO's Chernobyl. Thank you Mr Jayston.
I was so very grateful to hear that replacing Michael Jayston as Peter Guillam on Smiley's People was by Michael's choice, not the director's or the production company's. Michael Jayston's performance was so perfect in TTSS. Well done, Michael. Standing on your own and not in the shadows of iconic talent. Great performance.
I watched TTS as a 14-year old when it came out. The whole mood of the cold war back then combined with the quiet intellectual chess game between mole and Smiley impressed upon me the importance of thinking deeply and not trusting appearances.
Bravo, Mr. Jayston....you look vibrant, handsome, and your voice is strong and you are as sharp as ever...the years have been very kind to you....Sir, you are an integral part of the greatest drama series found on the internet...well done! And before I forget you are spellbinding in 'the epic Nicholas and Alexandra' That is a very important film in its own right.
I was taken with it , completely absorbed by the extraordinary level of acting. It introduced me to another level of drama. I was in my early twenties when it came out. Whenever I hear Le Carre's name I immediately pay attention.
Sir, you might say you're old, but I'm 65 and find you gorgeous. Stellar work in this film and everything else you've done. Many blessings to you and yours. Lovely interview. ✨
Saw Nicholas & Alexandra recently. Excellent study of a man completely inept at his job. Unbeleiveably tragic results. Best scenes are when Nicholas completely breaks down in front of his wife when he returns from the war, and the other one is when Ian Holm belittles him on the train.
@@movingpicutres99No, he only knew her as a comedy actress, a comedienne, so thought she wouldn't be able to do a "straight" or serious role. Well we all agree she was totally brilliant, a scene stealer in fact. And I'm sure Guinness came to agree that she was great.
BBC’s 2 ‘Karla Trilogy’ adaptations are the finest 2 pieces of TV, and indeed certainly of book adaptations, that I’ve ever seen. Exquisite creative triumphs. Bliss to watch.
Yes. This drama is pure gold. Probably my favorite production of all time. Story and actors really give you a feel of the cold war politics spy craft played by chess masters.
A superb BBC series, and a personal favorite of mine to watch every now and again. The whole cast did an excellent job. (The ONLY one I would not fully embrace was Bannon, but his performance was excellent. I had to remind myself also that he was playing someone who was wounded and tortured, and his demeanor suit it)
MJ is a treasure,a British treasure.All those in that production were,as a young man I wanted to be MJ or IB;admired them no end.That under current of sudden violence they conveyed,astonishing!
Interesting to hear that Le Carre wasn’t fond of Bannon’s performance. First I’ve heard of that but it makes sense now that I reflect back on the book. Le Carre probably was not particularly smitten with Bannon’s rougher side that popped through in subtle ways in the performance. I thought it was wonderful and gave him some macho, romantic appeal. Le Carre likely wanted a more polished performance ala Ian Richardson who let’s not forget was super close with Prideaux, perhaps even lovers at one time. Fascinating tidbit from an iconic series. I have to watch it again.
I agree, I'm obsessed with his performance as the Tsar. But what about his magnificent Mr. Rochester? And Siegfried Sassoon? And many others. I also adore the way he plays his villains - The Valeyard for example. 😍🥰🤗
As the son of an admired, our life was very unshowbizzy, but in one rare exception we were included in an invitation to a garden party at Peter Bowles's Barnes home and that was where I got to meet Michael Jayston and what a lovely man he was. His agent he mentions then was Julian Belfrage, partner at the time toMichael Whitehall, and also Dad's agent.
Thank you so very much for sharing! 🥰🤗😍 What a great insightful interview, he is so charismatic and a great talent. I love how he talks about Alec Guinness (they also co-starred in Cromwell, another great unforgettable film). He didn't like Zulu Dawn apparently. :) How funny that he introduced himself, as if he needed an introduction - very sweet! Love him forever!
I watched the entire show three times and read the book twice to completely understand everything. And I thought the Wire was a bit complicated. The show was way ahead of it's time. It feels like a modern HBO drama, Amazing stuff
The casting of all the male roles in TTSS had been supremely, joyously brilliant - with the exception of Karla (sry). And the Jayston + Guinness dynamic as Guillam + Smiley had been so perfectly sublime that I actually read the book - and ahh, what a privilege it was to read the lines in their voices, and Michael's most particularly. Even bought the audiobook of him voicing TTSS :)
I got to meet Michael Jayston at a Who convention and very pleasantly surprised him by telling him he was the "definitive Peter Guillam". We had a very nice chat about the production and his much regretted absence from Smiley's People. He told me Judy Dench was one of the actresses in the running for Madame Ostrakova.
Absolutely loved this back in the days, great acting, so many great characters, all in one series, and one of my personal top 10 favorite books! Thanks for posting 👍
The scene in the third episode where you hold your own against pompous, bullying, self-admiring Percy Alleline (Michael Aldridge, superb in his own right as the classic bureaucratic poseur and climber) while a silent, very large thug sits silently but threateningly to your left is practically worth the whole series. And your reply to Toby Esterhase (Bernard Hepton) when he informs you that the information they've given you is "ultra-, ultra-sensitive" was classic.
Hello and thank you Mr. Jayston; wonderful performance in 'Tinker, Tailor', as you had mentioned in the interview, Mr. Alec Guinness (may his soul rest in peace 🙏) literally carried the series. The good old days when the BBC used to make worthy productions!
@hughmac13 Came here to say the same thing. I’ve listened to the Karla Trilogy so many times and Jayston brings them to life every time. Not ashamed to admit I’m a Michael Jayston fanboy. 😂
I always mentally substitute Jayston for the guy who did Peter in Smiley's People. That performance and Audrey Hepburn stealing the Eliza Doolittle part from Julie Andrews are my two biggest casting beefs. And perhaps Sinatra punking out on Carousel, but that was his fault.
Yes, so true. And talking about the film too... even if Benedict Cumberbatch is a very fine actor, he couldn't play Peter Guillam like Michael Jayston did. Besides, Peter Guillam in the 2011 film has a very small part, he isn't George Smiley's best friend and he has an annoying dandy style. :) The film is interesting though... but very hard to understand.
@@raymonda5476 No, that's impossible, Nicholas and Alexandra was made in 1971 and Smiley's People in 1981 or 1982. Michael Jayston was in The Sound of Music, on stage, playing Captain von Trapp, with Petula Clarke around that time (1981), it could have been one of the reasons, who knows...
Having watched the series time and again I never fail to pick up some tidbit I'd missed. I'll go back and watch it because it's better than anything else going. I always liked Bannon in the role. Near the end little schoolboy unpaid Bill gets stuck trying to read aloud a passage from scripture. An exhausted and utterly disillusioned Bannon finishes the passage for him from memory; this from a man cruelly used and cast out by the Circus, scorned by colleagues at the school, and betrayed to torture by his childhood intimate friend Hayden. It's as if Le Carre was saying that Jim Prideaux belonged nowhere, belonged to no one, yet was the essence of belonging.
I've often felt that the novel is a meditation on broken relationships. Man/wife, man/country, civil servant/civil service, person/values, friend/friend.
Since we’re on the topic, yes, Ian Bannon turned in a marvelous performance, like Michael Jayston and the rest of the cast. I get sucked into it each time I watch and I’ve watched it plenty (and even read the damn book a few times). However, that scene where he helps Jumbo out is deeply affecting.
Thanks for the insights. For me you were ace & a perfect foil for Guiness. Bannon was my favourite. Watch this series at least five times a year...absolutely excellent British drama at its very, very best
I remember watching this as a family on Channel 9 in the Bay Area (KQED) when it was on in America, some 45 years ago. Still the best spy story I've ever seen, movies or television.
The movie, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, completely changed my interest in movies. When I found the BBC miniseries, it took me a step beyond. Michael Jayston's performance is outstanding. The best Peter Guillam ever! I'd like to say Bernard Hepton delivered just as good of a performance as did Ian Bannen. How about Patrick Stewart as Karla. Never uttered a single word but said so much with his eyes and expressions. You just don't see acting like this anymore. Great interview!!
Have you enjoyed The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, film and/or book? Talk about an actor _as_ the character, _becoming_ the character until they are no longer distinguishable-when that actor is no less than Richard Burton in his prime.
I missed you desperately in Smiley's People. It nearly ruined a perfect story for me. But like a commenter below, I merely mentally replaced the real actor with you.
A very young Michael Jayston is in Love's Labours Lost from 1965 with Frank Middlemass, available on YT and he plays Royce in the Edwardians ( also on YT) in the story of Rolls-Royce. He is terrific as Royce.
It is easy to picture a character while reading a book. If the story is especially enjoyable it can be a severe let down when it makes into film and the casting is not what you expect it to be. Michael Jayston was absolutely a perfect Peter Guillam. It was disappointing to not have him in Smiley's People.
My guess is that the first director of Smiley's People (who replaced John Irvin) had something to do with that... Possibly one of the reasons Alec Guinness didn't want him as a director? The second was Simon Langton. But why was John Irvin replaced? It's just as complicated as a John le Carre novel.
So sad to hear the news of Michael's passing last month. Couldn't have had a better Peter Guillam. With all due respect to Michael Byrne, who was solid in the role, it's just such a shame that Michael wasn't available to reprise the roll in "Smiley's People".
Being a big fan of the Granada "Sherlock Holmes" series starring Jeremy Brett, I was thrilled to see Michael appear as the Earl of Rufton in "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax" in 1991.
It appears that the only actors from "Tinker, Tailor..." that are still with us now are: * Sian Phillips as Ann Smiley (born 1933) * John Standing as Sam Collins (1934) * Patrick Stewart as Karla (1940) * Alec Sabin as Fawn (1947) * Eugene Lipinski as the Czech Guard (1956) Couldn't find any data about the actors playing some of the smaller roles: * Stephen Earle as Norman (who was "too sensitive") * Duncan Jones as Jumbo * Daniel Beecher as Spikely * Jo Apted as Linda (Jerry Westerby's bartender) * Mandy Cuthbert as Molly Purcell
