60 Minutes Archives: Le Carré

Dec 14, 2020 | John le Carré was the pen name of David Cornwell, an ex-spy for Britain's famed MI6, whose page-turner spy thrillers made him one of the most successful authors of the past 60 years. Steve Kroft reported on him in 2017.

John le Carré's Final Interview on British TV

Dec 15, 2020 | Channel 4 interview from 2010 with John le Carré, former MI5 and MI6 officer turned spy author and political commentator.

Another interview with John le Carré here.

Intimations - John le Carré (BBC)

Oct 24, 2023 | [In this] BBC documentary first transmitted in 1966, Malcolm Muggeridge talks to the novelist John le Carré, who at the age of 34, had written the best-seller The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Although their conversation covers much about the author's influences and ambitions - with the notable exception of any mention of his time as a spy - much of the interview looks at the modern phenomenon of the secret service agent as a hero.

In a revealing insight, le Carré explains that his dislike of James Bond stems from the fact that Bond doesn't exist in a political context, making him more of an "international gangster" than a spy. Although Malcolm Muggeridge talks about his own, very brief, period of spying, John le Carré remains close-lipped about his (much more extensive) career in espionage. Le Carré (real name David Cornwell) began working for MI5 in 1952 and transferred to MI6 in 1960. There he remained until 1964, when a combination of Kim Philby's defection, which exposed many British agents, and his own growing success as a novelist caused him to leave the secret service. Le Carré remained secretive about his former career for many decades