his own time. >> rose: here's a conversation with me in 1993--20 years, almost-- talking about george smiley. john le carre on this program at this table. smiley is you? >> i'm still very shy. that's the truth. it's not a false shyness. i'm awkward. i never feel i buy the right clothes. i... i find life embarrassing in many ways and smiley does, too. i think i'm better at work than at living which is smiley's situation. >> rose: well said. >> and i... i think seeing a lot is very painful and that was smiley's misfortune. >> rose: in his own eyes and in world. >> and in the world he did. >> rose: his wife's infidelity and all of that. >> that's right. but also in the examination of other people. he had a trained observer's mind and information about people seemed to come naturally to him. >> rose: interesting. >> mmm. very. >> rose: does any of that surprise you? >> no. you get the feeling when you're with him that... >> rose: you see smile glee >> yeah. i mean when i first started to work on the... like i said on the voice, it's actually matched. it's sort of... you know he's a little... obv

one of the finest actors of our time gary oldman does a remarkable performance at george smiley, hisination in 33 years of acting. >> i'm retired, oliver, you fired me. >> the thing is, some time ago before controlled he came to me with a similar situation. that there is a -- >> he never mentioned his suspensions to you? >> no. >> oh, i just thought it was just you were his man, so to speak. >> what did you say to him? >> well, i'm afraid i thought his paranoia got the better of him and he was going to put his whole house down. that bloody mess in budapest. >> well, i was out of work but i think actors refer to it as resting. i was resting between engagements. and the phone rang and they said would you like to play george smiley in tinker tailor soldier spy. >> rose: and you said. >> i obviously knew the teeferment i knew the book. i had seen the original series in 679-- '79. and it gave me pause for thought. they're enormous shoes to step into. with smiley, you can't futs too much-- fuss too much and mess with the molecules. there's a dna at work here. and you, i am, i think, inevit

george smiley, your character. he keeps his emotions. >> he's one of those.ground in emotionally. a great read of people. i sort of envisioned him as -- i saw him like an owl. like a wise, old owl. he sees everything and hears everything. >> jimmy: does that make it difficult to play when you're playing a character that doesn't reveal much about himself at all? >> you know, it was a relief. >> jimmy: it was? >> it was a relief. after, you know, i've been an actor for 33 years. 25 of them in film. and i've -- i mean, i've been asked to play the characters that express themselves emotionally in a very big way. i mean, i've bounced off the walls in a few. >> jimmy: sure, yeah. i think today happens to be the 30th anniversary, i could be mistaken, of sid vicious' death. >> it slipped my mind. >> jimmy: you don't have a thing? >> it's not something i think about. poor sid. he was only 21. >> jimmy: and this is one of your great characters, from the movie "true romance." drexel spivey. that's great. >> that was done -- there's a story behind this. >> jimmy: what is

. >> george smiley, sort of a chief deputy to the main guide at the british secret intelligence service, they are both out by -- outed by a new regime coming in, and they discover that there is a mole, an informer, who is giving secrets from within the secret service to the soviets. the backdrop of the cold war, sort of as a backdrop, and the master spy, smiley, is sort of recruited back in but really working covertly outside of the service. he mounts an investigation to root out the mole. tavis: the acting category for women also has some big names, and two of the nominees come from the same film "the help," octavia spencer and viola davis turning in wonderful performances, but it reignited the conversations about the kinds of roles that we celebrate for people of color, the candid conversation we conducted right here. >> on the chair before she breaks a hip. >> i am not death yet. will you see if she has some of that ambrosia? >> like the kentucky derby. >> four give me, lord, but i am going to have to kill that woman -- forgive me, lord. tavis: let me be honest. i try to be honest on

and i'm proud that, i'm delighted that there's the nomination for, particularly for george smiley.. and so all of that sort of crazy mad work i've done over the years, i get the nod for what one good people have been calling minimalist role. >> they're also calling it a flawless performance and you've been called the best actor on the planet. you should get a t-shirt made with that. >> you remember who said those. peter traverse. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >>> now mr. roker with a check of the weather. >> let's find out what's going on as far as your weekend is concerned. we've got snowshowers here in the northeast on saturday, rain in the pacific northwest. mild in the southwest, cool around the gulf coast, snowshowers around the great lakes which will continue on sunday -- sunday! more frigid weather in new england, lake-effect snow in the eastern great lakes, rain west texas on into the southwest with some mountain snows there. and some clouds along coastal pacific northwest. that's what' >> good morning. it should to not to be a nice day today with temperatures around av