The original series was remarkable for pairing an American Napoleon Solo and a Russian Illya Kuryakin as two spies who work together for an international espionage organization at the height of the Cold War.

[1] Will Kuluva was originally cast in the role, however he was replaced by Carroll after the pilot episode when an NBC executive reportedly suggested that the person with the name beginning with 'K' be omitted.

[citation needed] In eventually casting Carroll in the role, the programme makers took a considerable departure from this original concept since the actor was in his 70s at the time.

Indeed, he had played the 'Professor', the head of the espionage agency in North by Northwest (1959), the film which inspired Norman Felton to bring the spy genre to the small screen.

He is one of five regional heads in charge of the multi-national organisation, though his position appears to be that of primus inter pares, i.e., first among equals.

Mr. Waverly was also a regular in the short-lived spin-off series, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., making Carroll one of the first actors to play the same role in two television shows.

In the third season two-part episode 'The Concrete Overcoat Affair,' Solo objects to the fact that his partner Kuryakin has been sent on a suicide mission.

"[citation needed] Although primarily working out of headquarters, on rare occasions Waverly joins in missions in the field.

[citation needed] Hugh Grant portrayed Waverly in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a feature film adaptation of the TV series of the same name.