January 2009 – Parade - In Step with Simon Baker

 

Just before the holidays, I was having coffee in Manhattan’s Carlyle hotel with the ruggedly good-looking Australian actor Simon Baker, talking about his big new dramatic series The Mentalist on CBS.

 

I first got to know Baker when he was doing the powerful legal drama The Guardian. Since then, he’s been busy appearing in films such as The Devil Wears Prada. "That was a happy experience,” he told me of the movie. "I came in, did a couple of takes here, a couple of takes there.”

 

That casual Aussie attitude carries over to his starring role on The Mentalist, in which Baker plays Patrick Jane, a onetime showbiz psychic turned nonconforming sleuth. So far, the show has been one of the standout successes of the past season. "It’s a good outlet for me,” he said. "In this economic climate, we’re lucky. I signed for five years.”

 

Baker’s been living in the United States for 13 years. Knowing how fiercely Aussies love their own country, I off-handedly asked him, "Any interest in becoming an American?”

 

Simon stopped talking, stared at me, and said, "Funny you mention it.” Then he dropped this unexpected news: "The morning after your election in November, I said to my wife Rebecca, ‘You know, I’m thinking about becoming an American,’ and then she said that she felt the same way.

 

"I don’t follow sports here,” he said. "But politics has sort of taken its place. I followed the race closely. It’s a tricky area, because I don’t want to be offensive, and I had no party loyalty. But electing Obama was this country being very grown-up. It was such a positive step for the U.S. to become a part of the world again after the last eight years.

 

Our two sons were born here, so they’re already Americans, but myself, Rebecca, and our daughter Stella are still Australians.”

 

Has he done anything about it yet? "No,” Baker told me. "The show keeps me too busy. But it’s going to happen. People always talk about how great America is, but actions speak better than words.”

 

Baker first came to the States in 1995 from Sydney with his wife, Rebecca Rigg, a film actress. His first role in a major film was in L.A. Confidential, and he went on from there.

 

"A few years ago, we went back to Australia,” he said. "But after seven months there, I found I missed America and our friends here. Staying in Sydney would have been like conceding defeat.”

 

His daughter Stella was in Chicago for a high school debate when Simon and I spoke. His boys Claude and Harry are now 9 and 7, respectively. Simon himself turns 40 this July. "I think I’m going to be fine,” he said. "I stay fit, mostly mucking about with the boys. And I love the wisdom that comes with age.”