RadioTimes.com<\/a>. \u201cIs it going to take off from where it dropped off? Is it going to be retrospective? Is it going to be another universe? We don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u201cI know that from about the second series onwards, there was talk\u2026 I was talking to Idris and it was talk of, you know, we\u2019re going to try and make a film\u2026 and Neil was interested in making a film about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI think whatever way it\u2019s going to be done, I think Neil Cross as a writer is touched with genius, you know. His take on this genre has elevated the genre, I think, in the same way that you watch modern dramas now, you can see that the writer is actually a good writer, they\u2019re not just writing a sort of a trope, you know?\u201d<\/p>
Reflecting on his exit from the series in 2019 \u2013 and the outpouring of public mourning for his character, Smiley said: \u201cI was really touched by it, you know, I was really touched by people\u2019s love for Benny.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he was quite a background character, he was more like the bass player in a band, you know, but he was there, and he was involved and for him to then come out from behind the desk and play a part in that last series, was fun to do to you know, and that was really interesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd to do that scene, was quite lovely,\u201d he continued. \u201cBecause again, the way I wanted to do it was maybe slightly bigger, but I was told to actually bring it back and play it more straight and less emotional. So I thought OK, so then we did it and I thought, maybe I would have done it that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then I watched it on screen and I thought no he\u2019s completely right. It\u2019s exactly how it should be, I get it. It\u2019s about serving the story is the most important thing. Because sometimes we let our egos run away with ourselves, you know, you go I want to do it this way. And really, it\u2019s because I want to look as good as I can on camera, as opposed to let\u2019s serve the story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smiley is set to play the lead character in new black comedy The Toll \u2013 which arrives in UK cinemas this Friday and is influenced by a number of films including some classic Westerns.<\/p>\n
Asked about the tone of the film, Smiley said: \u201cWell, it wasn\u2019t pitched to me as an idea of we\u2019re going to make a modern Western, it wasn\u2019t that, but it\u2019s obvious those influences are there.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was a bit more a journey in the mind of this bloke, you know, he\u2019s a bloke who\u2019s been doing this job on the remotest toll road in Wales. And he\u2019s been there for years. And he\u2019s been there on his own for years, you know, and he\u2019s been reading this book which is about philosophy, and it\u2019s about war.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo The Toll was interesting for me in the sense that, you know, a toll road, a toll bridge, but For Whom The Bells Toll as well \u2013 that, you know, you can hide all you want, but your past will come up and engage with you at some stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Toll is in cinemas from Friday 27th August 2021. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
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