John le Carre is having a moment. The Night Manager was a huge hit for the BBC and now Our Kind of Traitor is coming to the big screen starring Homeland actor Damian Lewis.

The actor interviewed real life spies when researching his new role. He will play secretive government official Hector Meredith in the film, Damian said about his lunch with two spies:

“I went to Special Forces Club and had lunch with – for want of a better word – two spooks working for the British government, They were brilliant and discreet, while also being indiscreet – happy to share tidbits.”

Damian missed out on the role that Tom Hiddlestone played in The Night Manager: Damian had read the novel, he told Total Film magazine, “I’ve read the Night Manager, Larry Kasdan gave me a copy when we were making (2003 film) Dreamcatcher. He said ‘You must play this!’ I read it and stuck it on my shelf.” Never mind Damian, you still got to be in a le Carre story.

Our Kind of Traitor opens in the U.K. and U.S. in May (16).