Jim Prideaux

Born to "parents in European banking" with a "small aristo" background Prideaux was raised abroad and attended Oxford. Smiley recalls that Jim was at first more athletically gifted than academically, but he came to excel in linguistics and was a polyglot. During his time at Oxford, Prideaux was befriended by Bill Haydon, a young Circus agent who recruited him to the organization. The two were lovers and remained close friends throughout their careers in the Circus. Prideaux has a gruff demeanor, which Smiley likens to that of a soldier, and speaks in short, clipped sentences; this demeanor disguises an intelligent mind, and he is essentially kind, especially towards children. Following WWII, Prideaux briefly works as a teacher before rejoining the intelligence services. He works at the Circus for three decades, primarily in Czechoslovakia, and is head of the Balkans desk by 1960. Mostly retired, he lives on the grounds and coaches junior rugby. == Development ==

In his introduction to the 1991 edition of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Le Carré wrote that an early prototype of the book began with a character who later evolved into Prideaux, "a solitary and embittered man living alone on a Cornish cliff, staring up at a single black car as it wove down the hillside towards him. [...] He had a limp, as Jim Prideaux has a limp in the version you are about to read, and like Jim he was a former British agent who had walked into a trap set for him by a traitor inside his own service." Originally, this character was to uncover the mole himself, rather than George Smiley, but Le Carré abandoned this concept and rewrote the story. ==Portrayals==

Prideaux was played by Ian Bannen in the 1979 television serial based on the novel. His portrayal is in keeping with the Prideaux of the book, a gruff military man who speaks in short sentences, but was considered a "serious disappointment" by author Le Carré. The series also shows the final encounter between Jim and Bill (Ian Richardson), including Prideaux's killing of Haydon by breaking his neck. In the 2011 film adaptation, Prideaux was played by Mark Strong. This adaptation emphasizes Prideaux's linguistic and intellectual abilities. At the end of the film, rather than killing Haydon (Colin Firth) by breaking his neck, he shoots him with a rifle from a distance. ==References==