Welcome to the Shrine to Actors

I thought it would be nice to do a Simon Baker post, since I’ve been enjoying the heck out of his hit show The Mentalist.

Isn’t he adorable? Simon Baker’s intense charm, radiant smile, and soft, seductive voice make him a perfect fit for this role as a mentalist–someone who can easily hypnotize, influence, or manipulate through intellectual and psychological means. Watching the episodes, one can easily imagine how both suspects and victims will open up to him–we the audience get sucked into his powerful aura just as easily as they do. It’s what makes the show so darn enjoyable. Simon Baker is positively magnetic, and even when the show doesn’t quite get it all right, we don’t care because we’re too busy swooning over Patrick Jane. Gah. The man has us wrapped around his little finger, to be sure.

Doing a few screencaps from last week’s episode of The Mentalist, “Red John’s Friends”, we get to see some of the charm in action. (Note: Some pics are clickable for larger versions.) First we start with the little bit of confident smugness, with that lovely arched eyebrow…

Here Jane’s demonstrating a trick with a skeleton key on the opposite side of a locked door. Yes, his pants are falling down a bit…hee. I absolutely love that he’s got a three-piece suit on in every episode. It’s very dapper, and ridiculously flattering when he’s in a trim vest and shirt sleeves. He looks like he’s built solidly, no super skinny guy here, and it’s absolutely delicious.

Here we get his childlike glee in showing the best part of the trick, involving some fishing line…

Here’re a few close-ups to show his uber-cuteness…

…and that devastating smile. Yes, Patrick Jane/Simon Baker, we’ll follow you anywhere and do whatever you say. Rowrr.

Now, as an added bonus, I thought you all might like to see a few screencaps from one of his early roles, LA Confidential–an excellent film packed with stars like Russell Crowe, Kim Basinger, Guy Pierce, Kevin Spacey, and Danny DeVito. And yes, Simon Baker (or Simon Baker Denny, as he’s billed on this film).

He was about 27 when he made this:

He played the attractive and naive actor Matt Reynolds heartbreakingly well. Here Kevin Spacey is eyeing him very intently…we don’t blame him at all.

Looks like he’s always had that little eyebrow arch going on…

And there’s the trademark beautiful grin, though it’s a tinge more shy here, to suit the character.

So, there you are, lots of Simon Baker goodness. You can swoon over this beautiful Aussie actor on The Mentalist every Tuesday night, at 9/8c. I believe there’s also going to be an extra episode airing this Sunday at the same time. Check your local listings. You can also watch video clips at CBS.

Simon Baker screencaps:

The Mentalist, “Red John’s Friends” and “Red Rum”, c2009, CBS.

LA Confidential,  c1997 The Wolper Organization, Warner Bros. Pictures.