It’s either that or being sent back to prison.? "He’s a reluctant participant in Dalby’s mission. "Harry doesn’t have much choice in the matter,’" says Joe. Dalby offers Harry the chance to become a spy and help find a missing British nuclear scientist who appears to have been kidnapped by one of Harry’s former contacts. After he’s caught and sent to prison, he receives a visit from William Dalby (Tom Hollander), the enigmatic head of a secret intelligence agency. Set in 1963, the story follows Harry, who’s doing shady deals on the black market while serving for the British Army in Berlin. As soon as I put them on it was “job done”.’ ‘The glasses were massive in helping me get into the role of Harry Palmer. "He’s such an iconic character,’ says Joe. I wasn’t too familiar with Harry Palmer as a character to be honest before being sent the material but very quickly after speaking to family members and people from generations gone by I realised what an important character he is within the British system and for me it was just a fantastic opportunity to do something different and I tried to avoid as much of Michael Caine’s stuff before and do my own thing with it."Īlthough Joe says he’s made the role his own, he still sports the spy’s trademark glasses. Joe Cole says: "I’ve seen the film but my Harry is a little bit different. (Image credit: ITV) Joe Cole on playing Harry Palmer in ITV's The Ipcress File The Ipcress FIle stars Ashely Thomas and Lucy Boynton.