INSTYLE MAGAZINE (German Edition, May 2013)

HERE COMES SIMON

 

The actor Simon Baker (‘The Mentalist’) talks about his happy family, his style of parenting and his style of clothes

 

Paris, Rue de Varenne: Through a nondescript entrance next to an antiques store, we enter into a hidden courtyard. Just a tiny sign next to the entrance tells us that the launch of the "Gentleman only” fragrance by Givenchy will take place here. The face of the campaign is the Australian actor Simon Baker, who, in his anthracite-grey suit, looks like a perfect gentleman today.

 

"After you, Miss”, he says, while he holds the door to the room, where the interview is going to take place, open for me. "I’m sorry, but I see that my wife has already tried to call me on my mobile three times. I should call her back quickly, is that o.k.? Or does that take time off your interview? Then I’ll call back later, no problem,”

 

How kind of you (to turn your phone off). I hope your wife doesn’t get mad if you don’t call her back?

No, she is very liberal about it. Sure, when I travel she wants to know if I’ve landed safely, but she is no control freak – if that’s what it sounds like (laughs).

 

You’ve been married to actress Rebecca Rigg for 15 years – and completely without any scandals. That’s quite unusual for Hollywood standards, isn’t it….

Yes, and I consider myself very lucky.

 

What’s your secret?

Trust is the most important thing. But every relationship is also hard work. You should never take anything for granted.

 

It’s not just your marriage, your family life seems pretty perfect, too, You have three kids, Stella (19), Claude (14) and Harry (11). Are you a cool dad?

Well, to be honest, I have rather old-fashioned values, but at the same time I am very tolerant. It is important to balance these two sides. My parenting style is hard, but fair. When one of my kids has a good argument, why he or she wants me to allow something that I had previously forbidden, then I’m not so strict that I wouldn’t reconsider my former decision.

 

How would you describe a typical day of your family life?

Unfortunately, I don’t have very much free time, but if I do, I like to go to a restaurant with my wife and spend time with my kids. We do a lot of sports together, and often go to the beach. When I was a child, I always used to go surfing, and I still love to do that today. I sometimes feel quite old in between all these kids, but I still enjoy doing it! Especially my youngest son, Harry, likes to go surfing with me. In the beginning, he thought surfing was stupid, and only came along for my sake, but nowadays, he thinks it’s quite cool. (Yawns) Oh, sorry about that, I am rather tired…

 

You seem to have jetlag?

Unfortunately, yes. I’ve only arrived from Los Angeles yesterday afternoon. So for me, it is actually 7 o’clock in the morning!

 

What do you usually do on long flights?

That depends on where I’m going and why. On the flight here I’ve tried sleeping as much as possible, in order to be fit today. When I’m going back to Australia tomorrow, I will have two weeks off. So on that flight I’m going to relax, drink some wine, watch films, read (at the moment I’m reading "Skios” by Michael Frayn). I’m really ready for a holiday!

 

Well you certainly don’t look like it. In your suit today you look rather similar to Patrick Jane, the Mentalist from the successful TV series. How do you like his style of clothing?

Very much. Suits are his trademark. I love wearing suits myself, for example, those by Givenchy. They seem to fit me astonishingly well. With other suits I often have the problem that I have to have the jackets changed to fit my wider shoulders and the pants have to be made tighter at the hips.

 

Better than the other way round….

Ha ha, you’re right, that is definitely better than narrow shoulders and wide hips!

 

How many suits do you have in your closet?

Quite a lot. But I often give some of them away. Most of my friends never even go to a store, but they come directly to me and say: "Hey, Simon, I need a suit for this or that occasion, can I have one of yours?”

 

Is "Gentlemen only” a fragrance that you would only wear with an elegant suit, or is it an "every-day” perfume?

I think it is a fragrance that can be worn every day. For my part, I pay attention not to wear too much of it. I don’t like it if a man smells too much of perfume.

 

In your opinion, what makes a gentleman?

It is someone who is always on time, looks a woman in the eyes when he talks to her, offers her his umbrella when it’s raining and – now that you mention it - of course he always calls his wife back immediately.