Simon Baker

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For other people named Simon Baker, see Simon Baker (disambiguation).
Simon Baker
SimonBakerHWOFFeb2013.jpg
Simon Baker at the 2013 HWOF
Born Simon Lucas Baker[1]
(1969-07-30) 30 July 1969 (age 54)
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Other names
  • Simon Denny[2]
  • Simon Denny Baker[2]
  • Simon Baker-Denny[3]
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Filmmaker
Years active 1992–present
Spouse(s) Rebecca Rigg (m. 1998; sep. 2020)
Children 3 including Stella

Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor in television and film, as well as a director. He is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series The Mentalist as Patrick Jane and The Guardian as Nicholas Fallin and has starred in several Hollywood films.

Early life

Baker was born on 30 July 1969 in Launceston, Tasmania. His father, Barry, was a mechanic and school caretaker, and his mother, Elizabeth, was a high school English teacher.[2][1][better source needed] He has an older sister, two half-brothers and a half-sister.[4] Baker's family moved to New Guinea when Baker was nine months old. His parents' marriage ended when he was two and his father remained out of contact until Baker became an adult.[2][3] His mother got remarried to Tom Denny, a butcher, but Baker did not get along well with his stepfather.[2] His mother and stepfather later got divorced.[1]

Baker spent part of his childhood living in the suburbs of Sydney[5][6] but he mainly grew up in the Northern Rivers coastal town of Lennox Head, New South Wales.[2] He attended high school at Ballina High School and Trinity Catholic College.[7] Baker has been an avid surfer since his youth and he considers surfing and the relationships with his surfing friends an important part of his upbringing.[2]

Career

Baker's first acting role was in a commercial. He got the role while waiting for a friend to audition when he himself was asked to audition for it.[2] Before working in Hollywood, he acted in various Australian television 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).[8] In 1993, Baker won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent.[2]

File:Simon-baker-mentalista.jpg
Baker at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2013.

Baker relocated to the United States in the mid-90s.[2] In 1997, Baker appeared as Matt Reynolds in L.A. Confidential.[8]

He is known for his portrayal of Patrick Jane in the television series The Mentalist, and Nick Fallin in The Guardian.[9]

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.[10]

In film, he is 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.

Baker made his directorial debut with the 2017 film Breath, which he also starred in, co-wrote and co-produced. The film is based on Tim Winton's novel of the same title.[8]

Honours

In June 2012, Baker was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with 175 other individuals.[11]

On 14 February 2013, Baker was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to the entertainment industry. Baker's star can be found at 6352 Hollywood Blvd.[12]

Personal life

On 2 October 1998, Baker married Australian actress Rebecca Rigg after five years of living together.[8] Baker told The Ellen Degeneres Show that one of their two weddings was held on the beach at Carmel.[13] They have a daughter and two sons: Stella (b. 1993), Claude (b. 1998), and Harry (b. 2001).[9] Baker and Rigg separated in April 2020.[14]

Baker is close friends with actresses Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman. Watts is the godmother of his daughter Stella, while Kidman is the godmother of his younger son, Harry.

In July 2009, Baker told PopMatters that he was raised Catholic, but is now agnostic.[4]

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 Credited as Simon Baker-Denny
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
2013 I Give It a Year Guy Harrap
2017 Breath Bill "Sando" Sanderson Also director, co-producer and co-writer; adaptation of the novel of the same name
2018 Here and Now Nick
2020 High Ground Travis Also Executive Producer[15]

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 Pvte Stan Hawke Episode: "Pilot"
1995 Naked 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 Main cast
67 episodes
2006–2007 Smith Jeff Breen 7 episodes
2008–2015 The Mentalist Patrick Jane Main cast
151 episodes
2022 Roar Adam Episode: "The Woman Who Ate Photographs"[16]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Work Category Result
1993 Logie Awards E Street Most Popular New Talent Won
2000 Australian Film Institute Awards Secret Men's Business Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Telefeature or Mini-Series Nominated
2002 Golden Globe Awards The Guardian Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Television Series Nominated
2002 Family Television Awards The Guardian Best Actor Won
2004 Logie Awards E Street Most Popular Overseas Star Nominated
2005 Prism Awards The Guardian Best Performance in a Drama Series Storyline Nominated
2009 Golden Globe Awards The Mentalist Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Television Series (season 2) Nominated
2009 Emmy Awards The Mentalist Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (season 1) Nominated
2009 People's Choice Award The Mentalist Best new series (season 1: with cast) Won
2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards The Mentalist Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (season 2) Nominated
2011 Phoenix Film Critics Society Margin Call Best Cast (or Best Ensemble Acting) Nominated
2011 Gotham Awards Margin Call Best Ensemble Performance Nominated
2014 People's Choice Award The Mentalist Favourite TV Crime Drama (season 5: with cast) Nominated
2015 People's Choice Award The Mentalist Favourite Crime Drama TV Actor Nominated
2015 People's Choice Award The Mentalist Favourite TV Crime Drama (season 6: with cast) Nominated
2018 AACTA Awards Breath Best Supporting Actor Won
2018 AACTA Awards Breath Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2018 AACTA Awards Breath Best Direction Nominated
2018 AACTA Awards Breath Best Film Nominated
2021 AACTA Awards High Ground Best Lead Actor Nominated

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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