Gary Oldman as George Smiley

Colin Firth as Bill Haydon

Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr

John Hurt as Control

Toby Jones as Percy Alleline

Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux

Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Guillam

Ciarán Hinds as Roy Bland

David Dencik as Toby Esterhase

Kathy Burke as Connie Sachs

Stephen Graham as Jerry Westerby

Simon McBurney as Oliver Lacon

Svetlana Khodchenkova as Irina

Roger Lloyd Pack as Mendel

Konstantin Khabenskiy as Polyakov

Christian McKay as Mackelvore

Zoltán Mucsi as Magyar

Péter Kálloy Molnár as Hungarian Waiter

Ilona Kassai as Woman in Window

Imre Csuja as KGB Agent

Arthur Nightingale as Bryant

Amanda Fairbank-Hynes as Belinda

Peter McNeil O'Connor as Fawn

Matyelok Gibbs as Mrs Pope-Graham

Philip Hill-Pearson as Norman

Jamie Thomas King as Kaspart

Stuart Graham as Minister

Sarah-Jane Robinson as Mary Alleline

Katrina Vasilieva as Ann Smiley

Linda Marlowe as Mrs McCraig

William Haddock as Bill Roach

Erskine Wylie as Spikeley

Philip Martin Brown as Tufty Thesinger

Tomasz Kowalski as Boris

Alexandra Salafranca as Turkish Mistress

Denis Khoroshko as Ivan

Oleg Dzhabrailov as Sergei

Gillian Stevenson as Listening Woman

Nick Hopper as Janitor Alwyn

Laura Carmichael as Sal

Rupert Procter as Guillam's Boyfriend

John le Carré as Christmas Party Guest

Michael Sarne as Karla (Voice)

Jean-Claude Jay as French Man at Residency

Tom Stuart as Ben

Harvey Walsh as Schoolboy (uncredited)