Quick Facts
Biography
Simon Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor and director. In his television acting career, he is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series The Mentalist (as Patrick Jane) and The Guardian (as Nicholas Fallin). In his film acting career, he is best known for his roles as Max Rourke in the remake of the Japanese horror film The Ring Two, Riley Denbo in Land of the Dead and Christian Thompson in the film adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.
Career
Before joining Hollywood, Simon Baker has acted in various TV shows such as E Street (as Sam Farrel: 1992-1993), Home and Away (as James Hudson: 1993-1994), and Heartbreak High (as Tom Summers: 1996). In 1997, Baker appeared as Matt Reynolds in L.A. Confidential. He is best known for his portrayal of Patrick Jane in the television series The Mentalist.
Personal life
He grew up in Ballina, a town in New South Wales, Australia.
Baker is close friends with actresses Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman. Watts is the godmother of his older son Claude, while Kidman is the godmother of his youngest son, Harry.
On 2 October 1998, Baker married Australian actress Rebecca Rigg after five years of living together. They have three children, two sons and a daughter.
In July 2009, Baker told PopMatters that he was raised Catholic, but is now agnostic.
In 2010, he was earning US$350,000 per episode of The Mentalist. Shortly after, he signed a contract that delivered a payment of US$30 million for his role as Patrick Jane.
Honours
On 14 February 2013, Baker was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the entertainment industry. Baker's star can be found at 6352 Hollywood Blvd.
In June 2012, Baker was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with 175 other individuals.
Advertisements
Baker was selected by the French perfume house Givenchy to be the face of the fragrance "Gentlemen Only". The spot released 11 March 2013 also existed in a 33-second version and reached a strong YouTube audience.
Baker also featured in an 18-month ad campaign for ANZ Bank in Australia and New Zealand starting in 2012.
Since 2012, he has been a Longines Ambassador of Elegance and featured in "Elegance is an attitude" advertising campaign which was shot in Chantilly Racecourse as well as their magazine print campaign for the same slogan shot by Le Studio Production SA.
Baker fronted Samsung Electronics Australia's "Turn on Tomorrow" campaign featuring as announced in July 2010.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | L.A. Confidential | Matt Reynolds | Credited as Simon Baker Denny |
| 1997 | Most Wanted | Stephen Barnes | Credited as Simon Baker-Denny |
| 1998 | Restaurant | Kenny | |
| 1998 | Judas Kiss | Junior Armstrong | Credited as Simon Baker-Denny |
| 1998 | Love from Ground Zero | Eric | |
| 1999 | Ride with the Devil | George Clyde | |
| 1999 | Secret Men's Business | Andy Greville | Television film |
| 2000 | Sunset Strip | Michael Scott | |
| 2000 | Red Planet | Chip Pettengill | |
| 2001 | The Affair of the Necklace | Rétaux de Villette | |
| 2004 | Book of Love | David Walker | |
| 2005 | The Ring Two | Max Rourke | |
| 2005 | Land of the Dead | Riley Denbo | |
| 2006 | Something New | Brian Kelly | |
| 2006 | The Devil Wears Prada | Christian Thompson | |
| 2007 | Sex and Death 101 | Roderick Blank | |
| 2007 | The Key to Reserva | Roger Thornberry | Short film |
| 2009 | The Lodger | Malcolm Slaight | |
| 2009 | Not Forgotten | Jack Bishop | |
| 2009 | Women in Trouble | Travis McPherson | |
| 2010 | The Killer Inside Me | Howard Hendricks | |
| 2011 | Margin Call | Jared Cohen | Nominated—Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast |
| 2013 | I Give It a Year | Guy Harrap | |
| 2017 | Breath | Bill "Sando" Sanderson | Adaptation of the novel of the same name |
| 2018 | Here and Now | Nick |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–1993 | E Street | Constable Sam Farrell | Episode 1.316, additional unknown episodes |
| 1993 | A Country Practice | Stewart Waterman | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | GP | Ben Miller | Episode: "A Family Affair" |
| 1993–1994 | Home and Away | James Hudson | 19 episodes |
| 1994 | Which Way to the War | Pte Stan Hawke | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1995 | Naked | N/A | Unsold TV pilot |
| 1995–1996 | Heartbreak High | Mr. Thomas 'Tom' Summers | 8 episodes |
| 1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | Gabriel | Episode: "Blind-Side Breakaway" |
| 1996 | Sweat | Paul Steadman | Episode: #1.3" |
| 2001–2004 | The Guardian | Nick Fallin | 67 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated—Prism Award for Performance in a Drama Series |
| 2006–2007 | Smith | Jeff Breen | 7 episodes |
| 2008–2015 | The Mentalist | Patrick Jane | 151 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Crime Fighter Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Crime TV Drama Actor |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | The Mentalist | People's Choice Award | Favourite TV Crime Drama (season 6: with cast) | Nominated |
| 2015 | The Mentalist | People's Choice Award | Favourite Crime Drama TV Actor | Nominated |
| 2014 | The Mentalist | People's Choice Award | Favourite TV Crime Drama (season 5: with cast) | Nominated |
| 2011 | Margin Call | Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Performance | Nominated |
| 2011 | Margin Call | Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Cast (or Best Ensemble Acting) | Nominated |
| 2010 | The Mentalist | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (season 2) | Nominated |
| 2009 | The Mentalist | People's Choice Award | Best new series (season 1: with cast) | Won |
| 2009 | The Mentalist | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (season 1) | Nominated |
| 2009 | The Mentalist | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Television Series (season 2) | Nominated |
| 2005 | The Guardian | Prism Awards | Best Performance in a Drama Series Storyline | Nominated |
| 2004 | E Street | Logie Awards | Most Popular Overseas Star | Nominated |
| 2002 | The Guardian | Family Television Awards | Best Actor | Won |
| 2002 | The Guardian | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Television Series | Nominated |
| 2000 | Secret Men's Business | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Telefeature or Mini-Series | Nominated |
| 1993 | E Street | Logie Awards | Most Popular New Talent | Won |