‘SEAL Team’ star Max Thieriot pours his heart, soul into ‘Fire Country’; hit TV series ‘is my brainchild’

‘SEAL Team’ star Max Thieriot pours his heart, soul into ‘Fire Country’; hit TV series ‘is my brainchild’ series ‘is my brainchild’ Thieriot, who starred for six seasons on Paramount+’s streaming series “SEAL Team,” worked double duty — flying from Los Angeles to Vancouver to film the first season of “Fire Country.”

With a growing audience that propelled “Fire Country” to the top new series on TV (averaging 7.3 million viewers per week), it became clear that the dual acting job couldn’t last.

“SEAL Team” viewers were dealt a major blow in Sunday’s episode when Thieriot’s Clay Spenser was killed in a tragic shooting in the final moments of the episode.

“It was a really weird feeling,” Thieriot said of the aftermath, “This is the end of something that was such a big part of my life. You feel like a little part of you is dying.”

“‘Fire Country’ was my baby and something I poured my heart and soul into,” Thieriot said. “Honestly, I didn’t think it would be this successful so quickly. Or even that it would be. I love what I do. But is there a part of me that somehow wishes I could do both? Of course.”

“SEAL Team” executive producer Spencer Hudnut made the difficult decision to end Clay’s character in dramatic fashion.

“I struggled with that,” Hudnut said. “I love Max and the character, who has been a big part of me for five years. But once that was clear, the question was how. We thought about having Clay ride off into the sunset, but that’s not the show.”

Sunday’s episode even hinted that Clay, who faced amputation after the explosion in the Season 5 finale, might have a sunset ending. At one point, Clay and his college professor wife, Stella Baxter (Alona Tal), happily discuss starting their lives over in a new town.

But the conversation is interrupted by a call from grieving veteran Ben (Joey Pollari), and Clay finds him with a gun outside an Air Force recruiting center. After de-escalating the situation and taking the gun away, a security guard mistakenly shoots Clay.

“The idea was to show the sad truth,” Thieriot said. “Like, you go around the world and take down some of the worst terrorists on the planet, and that’s how this guy goes down. I don’t think Clay ever thought he would go down that way.”

But the circumstances surrounding the tragic death highlighted the plight of veterans dealing with the psychological scars of war, a major theme in the play.

“‘SEAL Team’ tells devastatingly powerful stories,” Thieriot said. “It shows the good, the bad and the ugly. So even though I didn’t want to go, maybe this is another opportunity to show that here.”

Thieriot later spoke at a low-key farewell party on the set.

“I gave a little speech and I cried a little bit myself,” Thieriot said. “I reminded the crew that they should be so proud of themselves because they worked so hard to make a great show. But it was crazy. There was no time to celebrate after that. I actually got on a plane and flew to Vancouver to work on ‘Fire Country.’” Clay’s death on “SEAL Team” will resonate as a major emotional chapter for stars David Boreanaz (Jason Hayes) and Neil Brown Jr. (Ray Perry) for the rest of the season. Cast members texted Thieriot snippets from upcoming episodes showing the painful aftermath and the team supporting Clay’s family. It was both touching and strange for the actor.

“Watching the scenes where the characters talk about (Clay’s) death, it felt like they were watching me contemplate my own death. It was weird,” Thieriot said. “But it was a great experience. I’m going to miss it and all those people.”

‘SEAL Team’ star Max Thieriot pours his heart, soul into ‘Fire Country’; hit TV series ‘is my brainchild’ series ‘is my brainchild’ Thieriot, who starred for six seasons on Paramount+’s streaming series “SEAL Team,” worked double duty — flying from Los Angeles to Vancouver to film the first season of “Fire Country.” With a growing…