The star who was left out in the cold: will Gary Oldman ever play Smiley again?

‘The damnedest thing’ … Gary Oldman as George Smiley in 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Photograph: Focus Features/Allstar

Name: George Smiley.

Age: It was once observed that Smiley is “one of those ashen Englishmen, like the poet Philip Larkin, who seem to be permanently 60 years old”.