Welcome to the Shrine to Actors

I’d been eyeing up the DVD for The Devil Wears Prada for awhile. I hadn’t been all that impressed with the book–well, I had enjoyed it up until the end when I thought it went completely against the direction it had been heading in. The book had been trying to make a point it didn’t actually make at all.

The movie had gotten mixed reviews, but it was unanimous that Meryl Streep was wonderful in it. Streep was what had me leaning towards it, and of course, the ridiculously talented and hilarious Stanley Tucci. Love that man. Then I realized that The Mentalist’s Simon Baker was also in it. Okay, sold.

And then I found out what all those “Simon Baker shirtless” Google searches hitting my blogs were about, because yes, Baker is shirtless in The Devil Wears Prada. But that’s for later. We’ll go chronologically and start with the date, and the kiss. Then we’ll get to the towel.

So here you have it. The date between the aspiring journalist temporary fashionista Andy (Anne Hathaway) and the successful, vain Christian (Simon Baker). We start with a couple pretty shots of Christian.
(*Click* pics for larger versions.)

Then a walk in the park. Christian’s artistically fashionable, maybe even a bit metrosexual. Check out the shirt, scarf, coat. Andy’s still skeptical about his motives and tries not to be charmed by him.

Oops. She got charmed.

She needs a bit more convincing.

He’s happy to try.

He’s not going to give up. Look at the hungry look he gives her.

I love his seductive, arrogant little smile in the first one.

Andy gives in to the passion of the moment.

So there you have it, the delicious kissing scene from The Devil Wears Prada. Stay tuned to the Shrine for the Simon Baker towel scene .

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Simon Baker and Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada screencaps, c2006 Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

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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.