Maura Tierney And The Allure Of 'The Affair' (2024)

Steven Lippman / Showtime

“Wait, you’ve seen the first six episodes?!”

That was Maura Tierney’s surprise reaction when we spoke in early June about Season 4 of “The Affair.” It was a couple of weeks before the premiere, and Showtime had provided me with early access to the as-yet-to-be-aired episodes. But Tierney, who plays Helen Solloway on the show, hadn’t watched one bit of the new season yet.

“I’ve seen nothing. You’ve seen way more than me!” she said.

But even if she had the opportunity to check out the new season, Tierney probably wouldn’t have watched anyway. She said she tends to scrutinize her scenes, seeing “missed opportunities” and ways she could improve.

“I don’t really watch the show. Sometimes I’ll watch it later. Sometimes I watch the other paths that I’m not in because I like the other actors’ work,” she said. “I’m very critical, so it’s hard for me to watch. If I’m doing press, I should watch the first episode. It’s a little irresponsible. It’s not something I relish.”

That doesn’t mean Tierney isn’t aware of the plot, of course. After all, Helen faces a lot of changes in Season 4. She moves to Los Angeles with her partner, Dr. Vic Ullah (Omar Metwally), and her two younger kids with her ex, Noah Solloway (Dominic West). She’s in therapy and still dealing with Noah, who moves to LA in an effort to be closer to their children. Through it all, Helen is extremely self-aware ― probably the most of any character on the show.

“This season is about what are you willing to let go of? What are you able to let go of? What are you capable of releasing in order to find some peace and happiness? So all of the four characters are kind of examined through that,” Tierney said. “All of us have new partners, and it’s kind of an examination of who’s holding on to it the tightest and what that experience is like for them. A lot of the characters’ choices are unwise and lead them toward the darker parts of themselves.”

Paul Sarkis / Showtime

Those darker parts surface as the season progresses. By Episode 3, which airs Sunday, Helen gets some bad news about Vic’s health. The way Helen handles the challenges, though, is quite different from how Tierney would deal with it in her own life.

“The issue of mortality is very much tackled in Helen’s storyline and how she’s dealing with it and how Vic’s dealing with it,” Tierney said. “Helen makes a lot of decisions that I would not personally make. So it’s a little difficult for me because I’m not Helen, and Helen’s not me. I would never do that ... There are choices that character makes that I just wouldn’t. But that’s acting … Sometimes the bad decisions are fun. And then other times they’re kind of hard. They felt selfish to me. But people do make selfish decisions. That’s life, right?”

Paul Sarkis / Showtime

Tierney said that Sarah Treem, a creator of “The Affair,” would tell her, “Well, you’re not Helen. You are a nicer person than Helen.”

Treem can’t say enough nice things about Tierney, calling her a “genius” and an “unbelievable collaborator.”

“As an actor, she has more impulses in three seconds on her face than some people have in a whole movie,” Treem told HuffPost. “She’s so deeply complicated as a performer, and it makes it so exciting to write for her.”

And others have taken notice. Tierney won a best supporting actress Golden Globe for “The Affair” in 2016.

When asked what that meant to her, now with some reflection, she said, “I’m very flattered and happy, and I’m really happy to represent the show. I’m really glad the show got recognized. Of course, it’s really nice to be recognized for your work, but I do think it’s kind of a dangerous trap to make your work more valuable because you won a prize for that. I’m not in any way lessening the significance of that, which was very moving to me. Every job you do can’t win a Golden Globe — well, if you’re Meryl Streep, you can. Or Daniel Day-Lewis. For most of us, sometimes the work really means a lot to you, and you don’t win the Emmy, or you don’t win whatever. That’s OK. The work still means a lot. It still exists. It’s still done with care and passion and commitment.”

Speaking of other projects, Tierney has a few in the works. She’s starring alongside Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming film “Beautiful Boy,” which chronicles the heartbreaking experience of survival and recovery in a family coping with addiction over the course of many years. And this summer, she’ll be in London and Japan to perform a play with the Wooster Group.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear whether “The Affair” will get picked up for a fifth season or if this will be its last. Although Treem has a plan in mind for one final run, the show’s fate likely won’t be decided until later this summer.

“From what I know from Sarah’s plan, it sounds interesting and a little lighter,” Tierney said.

So, what will life for Tierney be like after “The Affair” ends?

“Life after ‘The Affair’ might be right now, for all I know,” she said. “I might be in it.”

“The Affair” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Showtime.