Joshua Jackson talks The Affair

Joshua Jackson as Cole and Ruth Wilson as Alison in The Affair.

Joshua Jackson's career has been going strong over the last decade. He spent five years on science fiction series The Fringe, starred alongside Patrick Stewart on the stage of London's West End (A Life in the Theatre) and acted in and produced the independent feature film One Week. Yet to some, he will forever be Pacey from Dawson's Creek.

Now is the time to cast aside memories of that loveable a teenager; Jackson has taken a much darker turn playing Cole Lockhart in new drama, The Affair.

The series lays bare the impact of an extramarital dalliance on two couples' relationships.

We meet Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and wife Helen (Maura Tierney) as they head north from New York City to spend summer in the Hamptons. At a roadside diner, Cole's wife, Alison (Ruth Wilson, Luther) first catches Noah's wandering eye.

"The show is called The Affair," quips Jackson, "The cat's out of the bag on that one." The real intrigue lies in how the story is told.

The show looks through two distinct viewpoints, taking turns to show Noah and Alison's version of the same events. The differences in perceptions are sometimes subtle - watch Alison's outfits change from raunchy to demure depending on whose recollection we're seeing - but often game-changing.

Jackson's Cole's gets an abrupt introduction, as seen through the eyes of Noah.

"When you meet Cole, you're seeing a pretty dark character. He is doing an unambiguously bad thing when he's introduced in the first episode." Jackson says. Or is that just how the scene plays out from Noah's vantage point?

"When you see Cole through his wife's eyes, you see a more nuanced character, a softer version."

But unfortunately for diehard Pacey fans, Cole is far from loveable in Alison's version of events. "It's up to the viewer to choose what's consensual and whether Cole is an outright abusive husband. All of that is open to interpretation,

This style of storytelling leaves the viewer constantly asking what the third, objective view is. "That's the sort of reaction we're trying to provoke from the audience," says Jackson. "You'll be conflicted. Hopefully as an audience member your allegiances will shift as you come to see more whole versions of these characters, as you blend the two narratives together."

Who: Joshua Jackson
What: The Affair
Where and when: SoHo, Sunday 8.30pm

- TimeOut