2010 (November) Tele-Loisirs - Interviews 2008-2011 - File Catalog

The Mentalist is a hit in our country and this is essentially thanks to its star.
From our correspondent in Hollywood, Hervé Tropea

Simon Baker welcomed Télé Loisirs in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association‘s offices, in West Hollywood.

He has such a good memory that he gave us minor details of our last interview with him. "France is just my second home” he immediately told us. It could not start better!

First, I would be downright ungrateful not to appreciate your country. 9 million viewers each week, that’s really something ! You seem surprised I’m so well informed, but you must know that I do really care about how the French people react to my series. I told the producers before starting: to me, French viewers are the best critics. I knew if they liked The Mentalist, it would be the same elsewhere. It’s no coincidence that I wanted Patrick to have a French car (a Citroën DS).

You had a whale of a time in the French Riviera last summer. What did you prefer?

First of all, women! (he blushed and burst out laughing). My press agent is frowning at me but I must admit I was amazed at how French women had class and style. Then, la bouillabaisse (fish soup), we had tasted this wonderful local food and we found it delicious. Anyway, when you put your feet under a table in France, you know you’ll enjoy. Even if you just eat bread and butter, it’s always delicious. Sometimes I think that my dream would have been to be French!

I had only one bad experience in your country. A few years ago, we spent (me and my family) more than a month in a friend’s farm near Toulouse. We had rain almost all the time. We were spending a few days in Biarritz, and it cost me 600 US$ to bring my surfboard to France. My wife didn’t want me to take it because we already had too much luggage. But I finally surfed for only a few hours. My wife was so furious she didn’t want me to take my surfboard back to the US with me. I went to some local surf shops to sell it and finally, sold it to a stranger on the beach for 400 Euros.

When I a walk in the street, I avoid strolling. But I’m not complaining, it’s the price of fame. And you know, I’m extremely old-school. When I learned the series was a big hit (he touches wood by tapping twice on his chair) I just felt relieved to meet the financial needs of my family.

Unmistakably, time. I’m trying not to spend more than 12 hours a day on the set. Before coming to your interview, I swam in my swimming-pool with my children because I’m shooting an episode this week that allows me two days off. Otherwise, when the episode is too busy, I try to bring my children as often as possible to the set.

No. My daughter Stella who is 17 wanted to know the "behind the scenes” of my art. Last summer I got her a training course with the production team of The Mentalist in order to understand better the world I’m working in. For now, she wants to become a photographer. She’s a true artist. She takes superb photos and does not need to compete with her father.