Colin Firth, Gary Oldman and John le Carre talk about what the circus is in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Gary Oldman: Well, the circus is jargon for the secret intelligence service. It gets its name from Cambridge circus, where it operates out of.
John le Carre: When I started making a parallel universe, I thought Cambridge circus was no musing spot. In my day in the secret world, SIS inhabited whole suits of dusky little rooms. And Control, i.e. the chief of the secret service, lived halfway up a little crooked staircase. Generally speaking the ethic is the higher you go the more secret you get.
John Hurt: The strong boys, the hard boys, the people that go out, the people who work in the field. It's kind of like a pyramid too. At which Control is right at the top and then he has the top five: Alleline, Esterhase, Haydon, Bland and Smiley of course.
Colin Firth: The rules of the floors and who's territory belongs to whom is established and if you're on the wrong floor, maybe you're up to no good.
