2013.06 - Interview for IWMagazine (Chantilly) - Interviews 2013-2015 - Video Library

The Prix de Diane Longines is a celebrated equestrian race in France where thoroughbred horses race and the glamorous gather for a picturesque event alongside the historic Château de Chantilly. Longines has been the official timekeeper of the event since 2011 and has a long history in the sport. A highlight of the races was the charming Simon Baker, Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor and Longines Ambassador of Elegance, who captured the essence of this prestigious event and truly made it one to remember.

What is elegance for you and what are the values you share with Longines?
First of all, my association with Longines is that I am a brand ambassador. Their slogan is ‘Elegance is an Attitude’ so I’m often asked how I perceive elegance. I think the main thing that I generally focus on when I’m asked this question is what the perception of elegance is for me. And it is an attitude, but it is about an awareness and appreciation not just of things, but also of moments and situations and looking at them in an optimistic and positive way.
For me, I don’t know what time it is inside me at the moment – I am jet lagged and tired, but I am buoyed by the excitement of today. The fact that everyone makes an effort to go to the horse races and dresses up and the effort that has gone into the training of the horses for the race – all of that and the appreciation of that fuels into what I consider elegant.

What is your relationship with time and time passing by?
We might need a trail of breadcrumbs because we might go down the rabbit hole here. I notice generally that most of the time I do not have a lot of it so I am moving very quickly, but in doing so I have to be completely in the moment. If anything, I suffer from not planning ahead enough. I try to plan ahead enough so that I can still live in the moment but not be too far in the future.

Have you always been in love with horse racing?
I have not always been in love with horse racing. The experience of going to the track itself is so much more exciting than the idea of just betting on the horses for me. I like the whole festival of it – people coming together and making an effort and being there and the excitement of it live. It is very different to bet on horses and to be there whether you’re betting a dollar or fifty cents – it is far more exciting to see the horses beforehand and see the excitement of people sort of push down to the barrier to watch the horses go by and the sound of the horses as they go by on the ground is exciting – it makes your heart race.

Do you see any similarities between a horse’s personality and yours?
You know you could really go some places with that one! There is something about a horse: they are like a coiled spring. They can be incredibly calm and still, but you know that at any moment they can go. And I like the excitement of that in the animal.
They are also just solid muscle and there’s a lot of power that is within them, but yet they can be incredibly calm and angelic and they are so skittish – that is what is really exciting about them. When you are at the races and you see them parading around, you can feel them mustering up their energy to go – it’s almost like sportsmen before a soccer match or something, revving themselves up. You see these horses trying to hold it all back, and the jockeys and trainers are trying to keep them calm.
That I can identify with at certain times – I like to try and calm myself and then exert a lot of energy. My body doesn’t hold up as well as the horses.

You have had many successes throughout your career. Could you share some advice?
Whether its good or bad, I always feel like every single job that I have, it always sort of feels like my first. I use that sort of excitement and energy to motivate myself in the job. I have been doing this professionally for twenty years now, and the main tool that I carry with me as an attitude towards working is I try to be as absorbent of other people’s approaches and ideas as I possibly can.
I still constantly try to pick up stuff from other people to learn and keep myself open in that way. And I am less harsh on myself than I used to be. I think for a lot of people we are our own worst critics. That’s not to say that I am still not critical of myself. I am critical of myself, but I get over the criticism very quickly and always try to look at the positives that I can get out of it.

Are you working on any new projects?
At the moment I am in sort of a transition period were I am looking at starting to plan for the things I am going to do when the show finishes because the show is not going to go forever. I have always looked at everything like that: enjoy that moment when I am in that moment but I am always looking for growth, something else that does challenge me. I will always head towards the thing that challenges me more because I just want to continue human development.