War stars Dominic West and Sienna Miller on episode 1s red carpet gone wrong

If the divorce at the center of War is, as its title suggests, an all-out war, then the end of the show's first episode is one hell of an opening shot.

Throughout the episode, actor Carla Duval (Sienna Miller) plots to serve her husband, tech mogul Morgan Henderson (Dominic West), with divorce papers. Little does she know, he's caught wind of her intentions and is planning a quick counter.

Carla's legal firm, Taylor & Byrne, decides to serve Morgan via email after the premiere of her latest film. However, Morgan's firm, Cathcarts & Sons, has something far more brutal in mind: serving Carla while she walks the red carpet at her premiere. It's a jaw-dropping moment, one that nods to how Jason Sudeikis' legal team served Olivia Wilde custody papers at CinemaCon.

"I was so excited to shoot that scene because of the level of hiding that she would have to do," Miller told Mashable in a junket interview. "It felt like acrobatics, to some degree. What a nightmare to be in that position, with everybody looking at you and having to hide how wounded you are."

West added: "It's delicious to play one thing when the audience knows something else is going on, and they're in on the secret. That's really fun to play, smiling while you're twisting a knife."

West and Miller dive deep into the scene in the interview above, along with series creator George Kay and director Ben Taylor.

New episodes of War premiere Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.