Simon Baker Interview on Ellen

Ellen: Starting tonight you can catch our next guest in a brand new CBS drama, The Mentalist. (Shows promo) Ellen: Please welcome the ridiculously handsome Simon Baker. Simon Baker walks out on stage, walks over and gives a bottle of water to a woman standing to his left, then he walks over to Ellen and they hug. He says I'm glad to see ya, while he's hugging her and she says you too, then she says I like your suite, as they pull apart. Simon stands for a few seconds and waves to everyone and smiles. Then they sit down. He's wearing a gray suite with a white shirt. Ellen: Hi Simon Simon: How are ya Ellen? Ellen : I'm good how are you? that was very sweet to bring the liar some water. Simon: I lie for a living, that's what I do for a living. Ellen: That's right, well you pretend to, you kind of do. Simon: yep Ellen: So you're on the lot because we had you on the show the other day to do a tiny bit of your show and do you like being on the lot here? Simon: I love the lot, it's like I never went to college, but there's always stuff going on, there's people sort of walking around in different costumes and stuff. I get to ride my bike everywhere. Ellen: Oh you have a bike? Simon: Yeah. Ellen: I'm gonna get a bike. Simon: Gutta get a bike Ellen: Get a little license plate that says Simon? Simon: noo I gut a little thing that says Baker. Ellen: Ohhh? Simon: yeah, tricky. Ellen: ohhh, No one will ever figure out that's yours. Simon: No Ellen: you know they have cops here. Simon: Be careful. Ellen: They will give you a ticket. Simon: They will give you a ticket Ellen: Did you get a ticket? Simon: I haven't had a ticket yet, I'm dying to get a ticket. Ellen: Oh really? are you trying to get a ticket? Simon: sort of. but not really. Ellen: What are you doing to try to get a ticket? Simon: Going through stop signs really quick. Ellen: uh huh Simon: A bit of that to the policeman when I go by ( Waves with his middle finger). laughs and says nooo. Ellen: uh huh oh really Simon: But you have to be careful, you get a ticket, I don't know what, you don't have to pay anything, uh so its sort of redundant Ellen: Uh huh Simon: But I think after you get two or three you go to Daffy Duck Prison Ellen: Uh huh Simon: and that's it you can't ride your bike on the lot or your golf cart. Ellen: well then don't get in trouble. Simon: No Ellen: You don't want to do that. I'm just noticing, that see, now your having, your Australian accent is coming out, but when you are on the show, you have an American accent. Doesn't that just kinda stick with you? is it hard to kinda go in and out of the accent? Simon: uhhh yeaaaahhhh, pretty hard, not so bad, I mean I go backwards and forwards Ellen uh huh Simon: But sometimes I do ahhh, I find myself saying certain words in my real life as an American which sorta upsets me a little bit. Ellen: Like what? Simon: *** ( In Australian accent) Ellen: ***?(In Australian accent) Simon: *** ( said in American accent) Ellen : *** is American and *** is Australian Simon: I say *** Ellen: *** doesn't sound dirty at all Simon: A R S E Ellen: *** Simon: Sounds Pretty Ellen: Yes it doesn't sound like a bad word at all Simon: no Ellen: Ohhhh you ***. You know it sounds like a sweet thing to say to somebody. Simon: Yeah, ***( In American accent) Ellen: yeah, Alright, so, and how's the family? How old are the kids now? Simon: Great. Uhhh 15, 7,and 9. Ellen: I know 15 Simon: I know Ellen: That's incredible Simon: yeah it sure is. Thanks very much. Ellen: So it's a girl. The 15 year old? Simon: It's a girl, yes Stella Ellen: How is that, having a 15 year old girl? Simon: It's challenging, she's almost as tall as me. She's allot smarter then me. You know like computers, every generation are set up by the first generation Ellen: right Simon: Wait till the second or third Ellen: right Simon: They're smarter then you Ellen: uh huh Simon: and I can't argue with her. Look at, I sound American, Argue with her Ellen: Yes Simon: Ummm, she's pretty fantastic, she's very intelligent, she's very smart, she doesn't suffer fools, me that is. Ellen: uh huh Simon: and uhhh Ellen: she must know that she's gut a cool dad though, I mean you're as, as dads go Simon: that's what I think, Ellen: Yes Simon: Which is a mistake. Ellen: Yeah, she doesn't think your cool? Simon: Because as soon as your cool, like, hey Stella how's it going with the friends? Ellen: uh huh Simon: She's like, ok dad enough with the cool dad thing. Ellen: Yeah Simon: ok, it doesn't work. But then if you go in and, Hi, and you're sort of the stern dad and she's like, ok dad what's wrong with you? So basically I think at 15 you can't really win. Ellen: Yeah, yeah that's tuff, Let me tell her, what's her name? Stella? You've gut a great dad. Simon: She is great Ellen: Lighten up on him. Simon: She is Awesome Ellen: But didn't she help you decide on taking the Devil wears Prada? Simon: Yeah she did actually we were in Australia, and she um, she was bored and she said have you gut something I can read? and I said, yeah actually I do, you might be interested. There's a script over there called The Devil wears Prada. She's like, Ohh I've heard about this book. So she read it. and uhh I reported back to her in about 2hours because she just sat and went through it immediately. I said what do you think? She said well, the character is uhh a bit of an ***(American accent). Ellen: uh huh Simon: She didn't use that word but uh, I will use that word for you. Ellen: uh huh Simon: Uhh But I think you should do it because I really think you should do a movie that I can go and see with my friends. Something that you're not having sex in or dying in. Ellen: yep Simon: Or killing people in it. Ellen: uh huh Simon: So I think you should do. Ellen: Well that was a smart choice. Simon: Yeah Ellen: That did very well Simon: Yeah Ellen: allright, so um, We have to take a break or should he tell us about The Mentalist now? When we come back you'll tell us about the TV show we'll be right back. (Breaks for commercial) Ellen: We're back with Simon Baker from The Mentalist. Tell everybody what The Mentalist is about! Simon: ahh, a mentalist is not a psychic, a psychic has powers, a mentalist has honed skills and techniques that they use. Suggestion, repoire building, mirroring, you know, all this sorta stuff wherethey can read people. Uhh, they use those skills to, uhh, to affect peoples thoughts and ideas. So I could create a situation that you suggest, that you suggest a certain thing, then I can turn around and say, your thinking that, and you would go ahhhh! Ellen: Really? Simon: In the show I use those skills to um, as a detective . It's sorta um, it kind of a prankster detective. Ellen: Alright, and so you kind of fool people into, either you catch them or you make them admit that they did it right? Simon: That's right Ellen: By pretending you know? Simon: " Mentalising them", we use on the set . Ellen: Right, right. It's really good and it's on CBS right? Simon: Yes Ellen: It's The Mentalist, premières tonight at 9:00 on CBS