elcorreo.com 26/10/2011

Simon Baker : "I don't see myself as sexy because I'm not in the market"

Simon Baker, one of the most attractive men in the world is on the fourth season of “The Mentalist”.

The fourth season the ‘The Mentalist’ has come to Spain in incredible success. Thanks to the show, the network has beaten the record of audiences this year (1,9 million). And part of that success is because of the main character, the Australian Simon Baker (Tasmania, 1969) named one of the most attractive men in Hollywood. He infuses seduction and cynicism to Patrick Jane, a detective halfway between Sherlock Holmes and Columbo, who analyzes and observes every case until finding the guilty party.

In the third season he ended up killing Red John, something that didn’t surprise the audience.
The surprise is coming. It’s true that Jane has said to exhaustion that when he found Red John he was going to kill him. Finally, he’s gotten his revenge, but maybe he’s only just begun.

What do you mean?
- There’s so much to discover. The fact that he’s killed Red John in a public place and in total calm is symptom of his bleakness, but that’s a great burden for Jane. A big part of the speculation of the series was if he’d dare or not to execute his revenge. Now another cycle starts.

Patrick Jane is a detective with a brilliant acuteness. Do you find yourself more observant since you play him?
- No. I’ve always been reasonably observant. Playing Jane doesn’t influence my life. I don’t try to mentalize myself for the character. The only thing I do is desperately trying to remember the lines.

Have you learnt something about human nature thanks to Jane?
- Every actor is different when facing work. I’m not a technically trained actor. But the study of mentalism and the idea of creating a profile by reading people is very similar to interpretation. A big part of the acting is found in the moments of silence because you receive the other person’s energy and what they don’t give you with the dialogue. There are elements that help me to read human nature. Obviously, this show forces me to concentrate more in that aspect.

Do you get compared with Sherlock Holmes and Columbo?
- Since the pilot episode I’ve developed Jane thinking of Pagliacci from 'The Tramp', Chaplin and Peter Sellers. But he’s definitely got abit of Columbo and I understand the comparisons. He has a lot of Sherlock Holmes because they’re both observant, they are not actual policemen and they work on their own account.

What would you say is the secret of ‘The Mentalist’?
- The protagonist is surrounded by characters that work for him to stand out among them. Jane is the hero, he’s not a tough guy, and he’s mysterious, different. He’s a valiant that doesn’t like guns.

The show does quite well around the globe.
- It goes well because it’s pure entertainment. It’s got humor, intelligence, sex… All of those things are part of international language. When something amuses you and entertains you it ends by getting you hooked.

What does your family think of you being named one of the sexiest men in the world?
- My wife says “Let’s see when you get number one. You’ve been third for three years.” I’m determined to get number one for her. My eighteen year old daughter doesn’t understand what I’m doing in that list at all.

And you, do you think you deserve to be in that list?
I’m over forty and I’ve got three kids. I don’t see myself as sexy because I’m not in the market.

Source

L'article a été traduit de l'anglais par une membre du site Red Blog.