Edward Woodward gives an electrifying performance as a reluctant professional killer working for British Intelligence. Callan became a national phenomenon in the late 1960s, making Woodward one of the highest profile actors on television. Created by James Mitchell and exploring the dingy, twilight world of the professional spy, Callan was the antithesis of the James Bond films and presented television's most realistic portrayal, until that point, of government espionage.