Smiley's People

Cast & Crew

Alec Guinness (Actor) .. George Smiley

Mario Adorf (Actor) .. Claus Kretzschmar

Vladek Sheybal (Actor) .. Otto Leipzig

Eileen Atkins (Actor) .. Madame Ostrakova

Michael Byrne (Actor) .. Peter Guillam

Barry Foster (Actor) .. Saul Enderby

Bill Paterson (Actor) .. Lauder Strickland

Andy Bradford (Actor) .. Ferguson

Tusse Silberg (Actor) .. Alexandra Ostrakova

Thessy Kuhls (Actor) .. Frau Kretzschmar

Lucy Fleming (Actor) .. Molly Meakin

Carl Duering (Actor) .. Walther

Jonathan Burn (Actor) .. Edmonds

Germaine Delbat (Actor) .. Madame La Pierre

Caroline Silhol (Actor) .. Marie-Claire Guillam

Michael Feldman (Actor) .. Stango

Frank Compton (Actor) .. Bryant

Jean Champion (Actor) .. Monsieur La Pierre

(Actor) .. Madame Delbarre

Georges Hubert (Actor) .. Monsieur Delbarre

Simon Langton (Director)

John Hopkins (Writer)

(Writer)

Did You Know..

Alec Guinness (Actor) .. George Smiley

Mario Adorf (Actor) .. Claus Kretzschmar

Vladek Sheybal (Actor) .. Otto Leipzig

Eileen Atkins (Actor) .. Madame Ostrakova

Best Known For: Co-creating Upstairs, Downstairs.

Early-life: Eileen June Atkins was born on June 16, 1934, in Clapton, east London. She has two older siblings. At the time of her birth, Eileen's mother was 46 and working as a barmaid; her father was a gas meter reader. A fortune teller told her mother that little Eileen would one day be a famous dancer, so she was immediately enrolled in lessons - which she hated. However, during the Second World War, she did perform professionally. After failing to get into Rada, Eileen completed a three-year teaching course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career: Atkins' post-Guildhall career began on the stage, but for nine years she struggled to gain decent roles. She's now one of the theatre's most in-demand actresses, having appeared in numerous acclaimed productions. On TV she has appeared in the likes of Smiley's People, Cold Comfort Farm, Wit, Bertie and Elizabeth, Psychoville and Cranford, as well as co-creating (with Jean Marsh) both The House of Eliott and Upstairs Downstairs (she appeared in the latter when it returned to TV in 2010). Her films include Gosford Park, Cold Mountain and Robin Hood. She was made a Dame in 2001.

Quote: "All through my career I have tried to do new work, but there is a problem in the West End as far as new work is concerned. As a theatregoer, I get bored with seeing the same old plays again and again."

Trivia: Atkins was married for nine years to actor Julian Glover; she wed Bill Shepherd in 1978. She also claims that Colin Farrell propositioned her shortly before she turned 70.

Michael Byrne (Actor) .. Peter Guillam

Barry Foster (Actor) .. Saul Enderby

Bill Paterson (Actor) .. Lauder Strickland

Born: June 03, 1945 in Glasgow

Best Known For: A number of small-screen TV roles.

Early-life: Bill Paterson was born on June 3, 1945, in Glasgow. He spent three years as a quantity surveyor before doing a teaching course at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He was about to accept an educational role when he was offered a place with the Citizen's Theatre. His big break came at the Edinburgh Festival in The Great Northern Welly Boot Show, a satire by Billy Connolly about striking shipbuilders.

Career: Paterson's TV debut came in 1977's Bafta-winning Licking Hitler. A year later he appeared in The Vanishing Army and Smiley's People. He went on to feature in such films as The Killing Fields, A Private Function, Defence of the Realm, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Chaplin, Bright Young Things and Truly, Madly, Deeply. Other TV projects include The Singing Detective, Traffik, The Crow Road, Doctor Zhivago, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and Law & Order: UK. He was also nominated for an Olivier Award for Bertolt Brecht's Schwekyk in the Second World War in 1982 and has done extensive voiceover work on TV and radio.

Quote: "I don't think acting has ever been my passion, but it's a very nice way of making a living."

Trivia: Paterson turned down one of the leads in Alien.