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Toby Esterhase's character change from TINKER TAILOR to SMILEY'S PEOPLE

posted 20 years ago by bluecoronet77
15 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone noticed how much Toby Esterhase's character changed from the first (TINKER) to the second (SMILEY'S) series? Although played by the same actor, Bernard Hepton, the character was written entirely differently in Smiley's People -- for starters he has a noticable East European accent that was completely missing in Tinker Tailor where he seemed a repressed British middle level bureaucrat. His personality is also much more carefree, he's clearly enjoying himself at times.

[–] 20 years ago

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[–] Christian-Munthe 20 years ago

That is true and should so be, since that is the case also in the novels.

In TTSS (the novel) much is not said about TE other than that he is clearly pictured as the least cunning of the 4 at the top (since he is the one set up by Haydon as the mock mole in the double bluff of his and karla - and thus the one to take the blame was there to be an investigation less thorough than smiley's). This is made clear in the novel when Smiley questions TE about who is the mock mole that Polyakov is supposed to use to trick his masters and then remarks to TE that he has not been very prudent in accepting that role (since among other things he in that role supplies Polly with supposedly undeveloped film in enclosed packages).

Anyway, in SP (the novel), this picture of TE is expanded to great extent when his underdog position in TTSS is explained out of him being originally hungarian and brought into the Circus through a long chain of promotions from simple local helper. Although a recognized expert on surveilance (and counter-s) he is thus not one of the academic lot - he has not gone to public school etc. He is an outsider, and this is explained by him not being british. Thus, eager to please those figures at the Circus belonging to the priviliged circles, he accepted the fatal role as Polyakov's mock mole.

Now, the fact that TE in the movie TTSS is pictured as a stiff upper lip type of public school snob does spoil the connection that is in the novels. However, it is clearly this picture that is faulty. The eastern european accent of SP is more true to the original of the novel.

[–] whirlycat 19 years ago

I agree with your assessment. In fact, I believe that Toby's character in the novels and films is a direct descendant of Fred Leiser, the hapless victim of Control's plot to eliminate the Department, in LeCarre's novel "The Looking Glass War." Both men are Eastern Europeans who desperately want to fit in to English ruling-class society, but simply don't have the background to make a go of it. We get a snippet of this in "Tinker, Tailor," when Jim Prideaux tells Smiley that Karla, referring to Toby, said, "How can anyone take seriously a man who dresses like that?"

[–] nsullivan 19 years ago

Toby Esterhase wasn't the only one I noticed who changed; Lauder Strickland did too. In TTSS, he's a posh self-important bureaucrat from the banking sector, who only appears briefly. In SP, he's become a spy, Scottish, rugged, willing to bully those below him but suck up to those above him, and a more important character. This is reflected in the novels too; from what you read in TTSS, you'd get the impression Strickland is much like the one in the series. In SP, it goes into detail on his accent, 'the same awful green suit', and his demeanour seems different, again, reflected in what you see in the series.
Incidentally, I haven't finished reading TTSS, and haven't read The Honourable Schoolboy yet either (have read Smiley's People), so if some explanation is given that I've missed, that's why. It kinda seemed odd though that there'd be two Lauder Stricklands in the same line of work; it's not exactly a common name, is it?

[–] CmdrCody 19 years ago

I liked how "Young Peter Guillum" (Percy's words in TTSS) evolved, too, in SP. He's still a young racehorse at heart with his Porche in Paris, but now he's also changed, like the others.

He's a little more world-wise and at ease when George Smiley blows into town with a wild (at first) senario that Peter's part in becomes crucial.

I like the whole movie because it has a twilight-like sadness about it.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] Jhines01 19 years ago

Perhaps you're thinking of "The Search for Karla," also known as "The Karla Trilogy." It is the collective name for "Tinker, Sailor, Soldier, Spy," "The Honourable Schoolboy," and "Smiley's People."

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] gmazza 19 years ago

My take on the change is simple and may also be a justification, as I LOVE Mr. Hepton's version of Toby in SP. Just the right mix of sycophantic and defiant.

In TTSS, Toby finally feels that he is accepted by the public school lads within the Circus. But in order to gain that acceptance, he believes he must mimic their behaviour AND accent. He realises the harsh truth at the end of TTSS. He was never accepted and was simply brought along as a convenient patsy by Bill Haydon.

By the time SP rolls around, Toby has given up on being anything but what he is: a Hungarian immigrant with little formal education who sells forged artwork. When Smiley asks for his help, he's excited to be back running the lamplighters, a job he is extremely good at, as well as the fact that Smiley respects him for his skills.

This explains the accent and the excitement. He is no longer playing at being reserved English gentry, and thus no longer hides his origins or his emotions.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] marjoriem 19 years ago

Esterhase isn't completely a "a stiff upper lip type of public school snob" even in TTSS. There's a dead give-away that he isn't that -- nor a "typical repressed middle level British bureaucrat", as another poster described him either.
The give-away is the way he dresses -- in a style way more flamboyant (esp. the shirt, tie and handkerchief combos he picks) than either one of those types would adopt. There's even a comment about it at one point in the series -- something like "how can you trust a man who dresses like Toby Esterhase?"
(He also appears to dye his hair -- an implausible dark red, and he has a comb-over -- something an Englishman of the public school class would not do, but which an English writer like Le Carré might believe a stereotypical Eastern European would.)

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] denever17 17 years ago

An interesting point that no one's mentioned yet: the line "How can you trust a man who dresses like that?" was a considerable change from the line in the book, which was, "Bloody man wanted to know how anyone could trust a Hungarian." Toby was definitely de-Hungarianized in the adaptation of TTSS.

[–] jla-32 15 years ago

You took the words right out of my mouth, so to speak, denever17 !
Also, I'm in total agreement with gmazza(Dec 6/2005) about the reasons for Toby's apparent change of character. Beautifully put.

[–] zooeyhall 19 years ago

I haven't had the opportunity yet to see the first film. However, Smiley's People has become one of my favorite films and I am looking to rent the first DVD ASAP.

As for Bernard Hepton's character: if they did change him from the first film--it certainly made him one of the most interesting characters in Smiley's People.

He certainly is a great actor. I remember seeing him as Archbishop Cranmer in "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" and as a major character in "I, Claudius"--both shown on PBS.