Simon Baker Biography
Born: July 30, 1969
Fair-haired Australian actor Simon Baker (occasionally billed as Simon Baker-Denny, and not to be confused with the Native American performer of the same name) specialized in playing suave, cultured, and sophisticated types, with many assignments as a romantic lead. He debuted as a performer in his native country, with roles on such popular Oceanian series as E_Street (1989), Heartbreak_High (1994), and Naked (1995), but made the Hollywood leap opposite fellow Aussie import Russell_Crowe with a small supporting role in the Curtis_Hanson-directed post-noir blockbuster L.A. Confidential (1997). Taking the success of this as a cue, Baker then accepted a lead in the similar, albeit less-favorably received, outing Judas_Kiss (1998). He starred opposite Val_Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss in Red_Planet (2000), and opposite Hilary_Swank in The Affair of the Necklace (2001), but achieved far greater recognition and acclaim in the lead role on the CBS drama series The_Guardian (2001-2004). He played Nick Fallin, a coke-addled attorney who finds redemption via child advocacy, until the series was canceled after three seasons.
Successive projects included a turn in the big-budget horror sequel The_Ring_Two (2005); a role as Anne_Hathaway's prospective suitor (whom she rejects in favor of her career) in David_Frankel's The_Devil_Wears_Prada (2006); and a part as one half of an interracial couple in Something_New, opposite Sanaa_Lathan. Meanwhile, at about the same time, Baker played Jeff Breen, a professional thief, on the short-lived CBS crime series Smith, starring Ray_Liotta. In fall 2008, Baker headlined the new detective series The Mentalist, playing an investigator with razor-sharp obervational skills. He also took on the lead role -- as a parent who opens up a nasty Pandora's box when he searches for his missing daughter -- in director Dror_Soref's supernatural horror outing Not_Forgotten (2008). Nathan Southern, Rovi
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