Justin Theroux returns from secret nuptials with Jennifer Aniston for second serve of The Leftovers

TIGHT-LIPPED about his wedding to Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux tells of his next TV venture after after their romantic honeymoon.

EMBARGOED FOR SUNDAY TV GUIDE FIRST USE ONLY: OCT 4. Justine Theroux in season two of The Leftovers. Picture: Supplied

AS soon as Justin Theroux returned from his Bora Bora honeymoon with the missus, Jennifer Aniston (following their August 5 nuptials), he was back on set in Texas shooting the second season of The Leftovers.

“Who told you I got married?” he jokes, when offered congratulatory pleasantries on his top-secret wedding.

It was reported that Theroux had said some of the fun was diminished during the planning stages because it had to be kept under wraps.

“I want to correct that by saying that every part of it was fun,” he says.

“Nothing was not fun. It was more like the fact that most people have the benefit of being able to talk to all their friends or consult people with how they want the wedding to look and be, and that’s part of the fun of making a wedding.”

Indicating he’d like to move onto The Leftovers, Theroux closes the talk on his personal life, and is clearly excited by the future plot-points of the award-winning series.

“Last season was grief and loss-oriented and this one is more spiritual, agnostic and interesting in different ways,” he says.

Season two of the popular series, which follows the aftermath of a global cataclysm that results in the unexplained disappearance of 140 million people, finds Theroux’s Kevin, a police officer and father, relocated to a small Texas town from Mapleton, New York.

It follows the tragic end of season one when the Guilty Remnant cult wreaked havoc on the citizens of Mapleton, and features a host of new characters.

Happy couple ... Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston hit the red carpet. Picture: Getty

“We meet the new characters straight away and we get to know them well very quickly,” he says. The new cast includes Regina King, who won an Emmy last week for Outstanding Supporting Actress for American Crime. She plays Garvey’s new neighbour, Erica Murphy, a wife and mother of twins.

Theroux says, “When you’re working with great actors it’s like playing a game of tennis. You feel really good afterwards.”

In the upcoming season, Theroux’s character, Kevin Garvey, has retired from his post as chief of police, his daughter, Jill (Margaret Qualley) has joined him, as well as his love interest, Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), with whom he is caring for the baby found on his doorstep.

“At the end of the first season Kevin gets what he wants. He wished for a kid and a family and he gets this cobbled together version of that. But it’s that thing of, be careful what you wish for,” he chuckles.

“They’ve gone to Miracle but the Garvey’s and Nora have brought all of their problems with them. It’s not like they stopped in Tennessee on the way and did therapy.

“So they arrive in Miracle with all of that. Like receiving anything you wish for, the expectations are grander than what you end up getting and so it’s trying to put a square peg in a round hole. It’s not exactly what you signed up for.”

Carrie Coon, who joins us during out chat, says, “We have nine babies that play the baby. Sometimes you might go through three or four in one scene because one might cry or fall asleep.”

She laughs. “We have two favourites. One of them has fabulous hair so when a new baby is subbing in they have to wig the baby.”

She leans forward. “You cannot wig a baby! You cannot stick adhesive to them so they have to work it out in a sneaky way.” She laughs. “None of the babies look alike. But my right bicep is really strong from constantly holding one of them.”

Careful what you wish for ... Theroux says his The Leftovers alter-ego Kevin seems to have got what he wants, but it’s not quite what he signed up for. Picture: Supplied

Theroux deadpans, “The babies don’t behave and they have better hours than we do.”

Meanwhile, Laurie Garvey, his ex-wife Laurie (Amy Brenneman) has left the Guilty Remnant and is reunited with her son (Chris Zylka).

The Leftovers is certainly mysterious. Evidently, that’s how Damon Lindelof (Lost), the show’s creator likes it. He doesn’t spoonfeed his audience with information and leaves many questions unanswered.

Theroux says, “That method is not an untried practice. And at a certain point, it doesn’t matter whether everything is explained and understood. Damon is shooting for something greater which is a little more poetic than what you’d normally see on television.”

In a weird way you have to adjust your expectations. You’ll never see a scene where Patti (Ann Dowd) gets up and says, ‘Here’s why we don’t talk; this is why we all smoke.’ He quietly explains certain things but you have to listen a little more carefully for the answers.

“It’s about watching it with an open mind and letting it wash over you.”

Although Theroux is a little vague when it comes to what’s in store, he says, “If you follow the Patti storyline, Damon aimed that arrow perfectly and where she goes at the end of the season is mind-blowing,” he says. “He does a real hat trick,”

Theroux agrees that although the show is ostensibly bleak, it’s ultimately hopeful.

“These people go through extraordinary bleak things, but we all do in life,” he says.

“The Leftovers is of course heightened but no one knows what will happen next in life. This family has a new beginning but ultimately it’s just people striving for love, calm, peace of mind, and something greater than themselves.”

Lucky for Theroux, he seems to have found just that.

THE LEFTOVERS

THURSDAY, 8.30PM, SHOWCASE