Simon Baker ('The Mentalist')

Soap fans might recognise Simon Baker from his short-lived appearance on Home And Away, but many know him from roles in The Devil Wears Prada and LA Confidential. The Australian-born actor is back on the small screen in Five’s House replacement, The Mentalist. Why has the US show been so successful? We sent Digital Spy’s LA correspondent Adam Tanswell to the set to find out.

Why did you sign up for The Mentalist?
"I was attracted to The Mentalist because it is a procedural show. I’m Australian, so I grew up watching English shows like Prime Suspect and Cracker, as well as American series like Columbo, Kojak and The Streets Of San Francisco. These were all character-based procedural shows. You remember the characters and you identify with the characters – and you want to see the characters in these procedures. I wanted to be part of one."

Did you agree to sign on immediately?
"I was reluctant going into it because I didn’t want to end up on a show that was just about procedure after procedure after procedure. If there was no character to work on, it would be the death to anything creative for me. But as soon as I spoke to [the show’s creator] Bruno Heller, I realised we were on the same wavelength and wanted the same things."

How would you describe your character?
"Patrick Jane has a lot of complexity to him. There’s a lot of depth there with his grief and self-loathing. In his back story, his wife and daughter were murdered when he was making a living as a TV psychic."

What are your thoughts on psychics?
"Psychics have always intrigued me, but that has been mainly fuelled out of narcissism. I have never been to a psychic, but I have been to see tarot readers on a number of occasions. Often, when I’m away from the family on location and I’ve got a day off, I’ll go and see a tarot reader. I’ll sit down for a bit and shell out $20 for a 20-minute reading and see what they have got to say. I’ve been to them in Tokyo and Paris, but I’ve never really believed in what they’ve told me."

Why do you think the show is so successful in the States?
"The Mentalist fulfills when it has to deliver to an audience that wants a beginning, a middle and an end. In a way I think that’s why procedural shows are having a little bit of a heyday at the moment. I think people like the idea of sitting down to watch an hour of television and getting that closure."

What input did you have into the show and the character?
"They're very accommodating with my input because it is very tricky to establish a character on a TV show that is potentially going to run for five years. I talked to Bruno about some ideas of how to play things and by the end of the pilot you think, ‘Great, this character can go in so many different directions.’ I knew I wouldn’t be bored as an actor on the set."

When did you get your big break?
"I guess I got my big break back in Australia. The show I started on was called E Street and then I did a four-week stint on Home And Away back in the day. It was post-Danni Minogue, but I remember Melissa George being on it when I was working on it. I wasn’t on it for long, but it’s funny how the Brits always bring it up."

Do you miss Australia?
"In my heart, home is always going to be Australia – but I am going to be in LA for as long as the show goes on. Australia is the essence and core of who I am, although I am fond of the USA and it has been an interesting place to live. I have a lot of close American friends and two of my children are dual citizens because they were born here. I’m enjoying myself for now and I hope to be here for a while, so let’s see what happens."

The Mentalist starts Thursday at 9pm on Five.