'The Affair' is about deeper, darker kind of urges: Maura Tierney

The Affair took the drama world of small screen like a storm in the see. 

It's not your run of the mill affair story. Alison Bailey (Ruth Wilson) falls in love with Noah Solloway (Dominic West). One has a shaky marriage and other seems to have figured it all out for himself. But when they fall in love, everything changes. 

The best part of The Affair is that the story is told from the perspectives of the people involved. Second season of the show included the perspectives of Cole Lockhart (Joshua Jackson) and Helen Solloway played by Maura Tierney.

Maura Tierney is known for her work in Liar Liar opposite Jim Carrey, Force of Nature opposite Ben Affleck and TV show ER. Here she talks about season two, how there is no one side to the truth and the critical acclaim of the show.

1. How thrilled were you to be back for a second season? 

Maura Tierney: I was very excited and, you know, we had a nice long break – it’s very different at Showtime because we do 10 episodes instead of 22. We found out soon, I think we found out after our Episode 2 or 3 of Season 1 had aired and I actually had a really good feeling about it. It seemed like David Nevins liked the show a lot. He just seemed really positive and enthusiastic during shooting. So, I felt hopeful that we would get another season. David got it and he was really into it and he really wanted to do sort of like a counter programming to Game of Thrones, you know, this sort of really large production value, epic kind of visuals to a much more smaller kind of intimate storytelling – not that Game of Thrones isn’t great, but he consciously wanted to do something different.

2. Were you surprised about the very positive fan and critical reaction to the show? 

Maura Tierney: Yes, I knew people would find it – polarising isn’t the word, it’s like titillating. But I am surprised by how many people watch it, like the age demo is huge on the streets who say to me, I love your show. Young men in their 20s say it to me, older women in their 60s; it seems to span – people seem to like it and they are into it. They are doing exactly what Sarah wanted, which is to be confused week on week as to whom to root for, you know, which couple do you want to see together? 

3. Helen was portrayed as the victim in Season 1. How did it change in Season 2? 

Maura Tierney: Yeah. I mean, there were some episodes from Helen’s perspective in this season. I knew Sarah (the writer-producer and playwright of The Affair) wanted to do that, but she said, how much can you fracture the narrative and not tax the audience too much to know what the hell is going on? But we still saw a different side of Helen because no matter what her husband left her. So, things had to change.

4. Has the fans’ loyalty been split along gender lines, with women siding with Alison’s version of events and men identifying with Noah?

Maura Tierney: No, no, I mean, more like when they say to me at the deli, I like your new show. And I do feel like, yeah, there are people that get mad at Noah, but it’s, you know, they are soul mates. So, I think, you know, can you fault someone for needing to be with the person they love? 

5. Affairs are rarely talked about openly, but do you think many people watching this really identify with the characters because something like this has happened to them? Or is it like voyeuristically watching a car crash? 

Maura Tierney: I do think so; I think it is like watching a car crash. It’s a really great way to say it and I think it’s not – like couples who watch it together I think it’s crazy. I don’t think ‘they’ are crazy, but it makes people uncomfortable because it’s what the show is. I just realised it after we finished unfortunately, but the show is about the darker nature of us as people and what happens when we tap into that in ourselves and do we acknowledge it or not acknowledge it and what do we do with it once we acknowledge it? So, grief, fear, desire, lust all of these things, it’s more about that I think than just infidelity. It’s about, deeper, darker kind of urges. 

6. Do you think there is a single truth to this story? As viewers, what are we meant to take away from it? 

Maura Tierney: No, I don’t. I mean, I think what Sarah would like people to take away from it is that there is no one truth clearly. People not only remember things differently, but experience things differently in the moment. You and I are experiencing this conversation differently. So, it’s from the moment something happens it’s open to debate about what happened really and I think that’s something that she’d like people to take away from the show. And also there is no real moralising about their affair. There aren’t moral repercussions for them, which I like that about this show. It’s not crime and punishment, you know, it’s much grayer and vaguer. That’s what I like about it. 

7. Where would you like to see Helen’s story go as the series unfolds?

Maura Tierney: I tend to think very literally and I sort of think – I pitch stuff to Sarah, but it’s more like event type ideas. What I would like to see is Helen sort of try to figure out how to have a good time. I don’t think she knows that. I think she is very efficient and a control freak and on top of everybody to sort of be perfect, kind of what her daughter accuses her of and I mean it would be interesting to watch someone figure out how to let go. But I don’t know what that would translate to actually in a story, but that’s a theme I think could be explored. 

8. What does the critical acclaim and the recognition for the show, including the 2015 Golden Globe win for Best Television Series Drama, mean to you? 

Maura Tierney: I think Sarah said it well, she said, ‘it’s a new show’. To get the Golden Globe for best show is a big deal and like she said, ‘I don’t think we will crumble under the pressure’, which I don’t, hopefully, I don’t think they will either. Sarah is very ambitious and very determined and she has got her wits about her and the other writers are really talented too.

Tune-in to ‘The Affair’ Season 2 Finale episode this Saturday at 10 PM only on FX and FX HD!