Film Forum

Australian actor and director Simon Baker is known to audiences around the world for his performances across film and television, including the titular character in the acclaimed CBS series The Mentalist — for which he received Screen Actors Guild, Emmy, and Golden Globe award nominations — and the CBS drama series The Guardian which also garnered him a Golden Globe nomination. Prior to his move to the U.S., Baker found success in Australia in popular TV series like E Street, Home and Away, and Heartbreak High. His first role in the U.S. was in Curtis Hanson’s 1997 Oscar-winning L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, alongside Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce. Numerous film roles followed, including THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, MARGIN CALL, Ang Lee’s RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, Michael Winterbottom’s THE KILLER INSIDE ME, and cult icon George Romero’s LAND OF THE DEAD. In 2017, Baker directed, produced, co-wrote, and starred in the coming-of-age surfing drama BREATH, an adaptation of author Tim Winton’s best-selling novel, for which he won Best Director at Australia’s DGA awards and received 9 AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) nominations, including Best Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor — the latter of which he won. Recent roles include HIGH GROUND, Del Kathryn Barton’s BLAZE, and LIMBO, for which Baker has been nominated for an AACTA for Best Actor. He will next be seen in the Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe and THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH with Jacob Elordi for director Justin Kurzel. In addition to his acting and directing career, Baker is also very involved in environmental issues. Baker is a member of AMPAS and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.

Simon Abrams is a film critic and features writer with bylines at The Hollywood Reporter, The New Yorker, The New York Times, RogerEbert.com, and many more.

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Supported by a Humanities New York Action Grant

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