i-Magazine - June 2015

Simon Baker Interview

Interview with Longines Ambassador of Elegance Simon Baker at Royal Ascot for a very British Day at the Races

Longines Ambassador of Elegance, Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor Simon Baker joined Longines for a day at the races last Wednesday as the brand commemorated nine years of being the Official Timekeeper of Royal Ascot, as well as its Official Partner and Watch.

Well known for being a family man, Baker attended Ascot with his wife Rebecca Rigg and his daughter Stella. Baker has an impressive background that spans both film and television. In a private interview, Baker told us about taking a “Breath” after The Mentalist, his role as Ambassador of Longines and The Rolling Stones.

What made you decide to take the jump from acting to directing, especially the adaptation of a novel such as BREATH?

S.B: Directing is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. From very early in my career I knew I wanted to direct, but I realised that it was something that I had to leave for later in my career. Then, all of a sudden the opportunity presented itself: a producer friend of mine gave me Tim Winton’s book. I read it and fell in love with it and from there it progressed to the point where my producer partner said to me “why don’t you direct it?” and I said “I’d love to do that”. However I had to wait until the show was over so I could focus all my energy on it. So over the last few years, I have worked sporadically on developing the script and we are now up and running and ready to shoot probably early next year.

So it is really happening, isn’t it? When could we expect to see it hitting the screens?

S.B: Probably not before 2017. Do you know the book?

Yes, actually I do. I read it years ago. This is a book in which one can easily detect nostalgia for times long gone… before it twists away. In any case, there are many reminiscences of the things in childhood you can never get back. Is this part of the reason why you decided to go for this project?

S.B: I think for all of us, when you get to your 30s and 40s you start looking back to your childhood and you look at the path you took and how easy it would have been to go the wrong way and you realise how precarious that time of your life was, how fragile. Sometimes you also see how fortunate you are that you didn’t take the wrong decision. So yes, there is always a bit of nostalgia. I have always been drawn to coming of age films, always loved them.

Breath couldn’t be more different from most films you have been involved with, such as LA Confidential or more recently, I Give It A Year. In directing Breath, is there a strong sense of achievement? Of “now I can do what I want” kind of feeling?

S.B: Yes, definitely. Creatively there is a form of catharsis in working on a film like this. I’ve been able to accumulate knowledge and experience over the years and now I have an outlet for it. It is a pretty privileged position to be in; it is a great opportunity for me and I don’t take it lightly.

Is there an element of fear entwined into attacking a project such as this?

S.B: For me… always. There is always the seed of fear somewhere. But at the same time, that fear, that seed of self doubt is what fuels you and drives you to want to make things as good as they can be.

After this project, what is next for Simon Baker? more directing?

S.B: I don’t know. I would love to do more directing but I don’t know. This is a very ambitious project for a first film.

Yes, it is. By reading the book one would think that a movie adaptation could only go two ways: either brilliant or …

S.B: Yes, exactly, it is true! There is no hiding in a project like this. It is either going to be very good or an epic fail. It is very ambitious indeed. But you have to roll the dice. Sometime ago, I realised that if anyone was going to make this film it was going to be me. This is real.

This project must take a lot of your time. How do you make it work with everything else in your life? For instance, with your work with Longines, how does the real Simon Baker relate to Longines?

S.B: Oh! It is easy. It works quite naturally. When you're asked to be an Ambassador for a brand, the brand has to consider who the person is and you have to consider who the brand is. For me it is pretty easy to look at Longines and see that they are a very solid, traditional, well respected and prestigious brand that has a consistency of great quality and performance. They have been around for a long time and they are not going anywhere. I respect and appreciate that kind of consistency and their timeless elegance, that is neither flashy nor necessarily fashionable. It is just timeless.

Before we leave… I hear you are a fan of the Rolling Stones. That you have met Mick Jagger on several occasions and that you even have the moves?

S.B: Yes, I am indeed a fan. I have met Mick a couple of times and yes, I did an impersonation of Mick Jagger with Jimmy Fallon a couple of years ago, a “Mick off”… and I beat him! It was a lot of fun.

I guess now there is not a lot of time for fun anymore…

S.B: Oh, there is always time for a bit of fun. Look, here, today. This is fun.

Thank you for your time Simon and best of luck with Breath.

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