Simon Baker Movies
Fair-haired Australian actor Simon Baker (occasionally billed as Simon Baker-Denny, and not to be confused with the Native American performer of the same name) specialized in playing suave, cultured, and sophisticated types, with many assignments as a romantic lead. He debuted as a performer in his native country, with roles on such popular Oceanian series as E Street (1989), Heartbreak High (1994), and Naked (1995), but made the Hollywood leap opposite fellow Aussie import Russell Crowe with a small supporting role in the Curtis Hanson-directed post-noir blockbuster L.A. Confidential (1997). Taking the success of this as a cue, Baker then accepted a lead in the similar, albeit less-favorably received, outing Judas Kiss (1998). He starred opposite Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss in Red Planet (2000), and opposite Hilary Swank in The Affair of the Necklace (2001), but achieved far greater recognition and acclaim in the lead role on the CBS drama series The Guardian (2001-2004). He played Nick Fallin, a coke-addled attorney who finds redemption via child advocacy, until the series was canceled after three seasons.Successive projects included a turn in the big-budget horror sequel The Ring Two (2005); a role as Anne Hathaway's prospective suitor (whom she rejects in favor of her career) in David Frankel's The Devil Wears Prada (2006); and a part as one half of an interracial couple in Something New, opposite Sanaa Lathan. Meanwhile, at about the same time, Baker played Jeff Breen, a professional thief, on the short-lived CBS crime series Smith, starring Ray Liotta. In fall 2008, Baker headlined the new detective series The Mentalist, playing an investigator with razor-sharp obervational skills. He also took on the lead role -- as a parent who opens up a nasty Pandora's box when he searches for his missing daughter -- in director Dror Soref's supernatural horror outing Not Forgotten (2008). He earned an Emmy nomination in 2009 for his work on The Mentalist, and he appeared in the 2011financial drama Margin Call. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
Investment-firm analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) uncovers sensitive information that could easily plunge the entire business into peril, inadvertently destroying the lives and careers of his colleagues in this tense thriller set during the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. Over the course of the next 24 hours, Sullivan realizes that the decisions he makes will not only affect the employees of the firm, but the lives of everyday Americans from coast to coast as well. Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, and Paul Bettany co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, (more)
The second feature-length adaptation of author Jim Thompson's acclaimed 1952 crime novel, Michael Winterbottom's unflinching, psychosexual post-noir stars Casey Affleck as Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford, a stoic small-town lawman leading a secret life as a serial killer. His West Texas jurisdiction plagued by a series of unsolved murders, Deputy Sheriff Ford does his best to maintain a cool facade while working to deflect the suspicions of the locals. When those suspicions grow too strong to ignore, the psychotic sheriff begins to buckle under the pressure. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, (more)
Filmmaker Sebastian Gutierrez writes and directs this ensemble comedy following ten Los Angeles women over the course of 24 hours. When porn starlet Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino) discovers that she's pregnant, her wild world of pleasure and excess is suddenly turned upside down. Subsequently stuck in an elevator with neurotic Doris (Connie Britton), Electra realizes she's standing at a pivotal crossroads in life. Meanwhile, adult film up-and-comer Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki) struggles with her reluctance to go girl-on-girl in front of the cameras by putting on a private show with her sexy friend Bambi (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a therapist (Sarah Clarke) turns to the bottle after discovering her husband has been unfaithful, a flight attendant (Marley Shelton) applies for membership in the Mile High Club with a famous passenger, and a precocious teen (Isabella Gutierrez) realizes that the adults in her life aren't nearly as well adjusted as they'd like her to believe. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carla Gugino, Emmanuelle Chriqui, (more)
Waiting for Dr. MacGuffin director David Ondaatje takes his love for the "Master of Suspense" to the next logical step with this updating of the 1926 Alfred Hitchcock classic which shifts the action from turn-of-the-century London to contemporary Los Angeles. Adapted from the same Marie Belloc Lowndes novel that inspired the early Hitchcock effort, Ondaatje's thriller follows a mysterious lodger suspected of being a vicious copycat killer. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, (more)
Jack Bishop (Simon Baker) draws on the powers of La Santa Muerte to find his missing daughter, Toby. His life was perfect until his dark past returned with a vengeance. Now the thing that Jack loves most has been taken away. With the help of a sheriff and two FBI agents, Jack searches the seedy underbelly of Mexico City for his daughter and discovers that there's no escape from the grip of La Santa Muerte. Paz Vega and Simon Baker star in a supernatural thriller directed by Basic co-producer Dror Soref. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simon Baker, Paz Vega, (more)
Upon receiving an e-mail containing the names of every woman he has ever slept with and every women he will ever sleep with, a man set to be married in just one week eschews his wedding plans in favor of seeking out the truth behind the perplexing message in a black comedy written and directed by Heathers screenwriter Daniel Waters. Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) was prepared for a future of predictable, domesticated bliss -- but fate has a funny way of shaking things up when we least expect it. When a mysterious message appears in his inbox and he sets out to discover the origins of the strange communication, he soon finds himself falling for a dangerous black widow named Death Nell (Winona Ryder), who isn't on the list. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simon Baker, Winona Ryder, (more)
Lauren Weisberger's best-selling novel about a young woman who stumbles into the hectic worlds of high fashion and publishing comes to the big screen in this comedy. Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is a bright young woman from the Midwest who has just graduated from college and wants to work as a magazine writer. Andy has applied for a job at "Runway," America's most prestigious fashion journal; though Andy has little to no interest in the garment trade, they are one of the only magazines in New York with a job opening -- second assistant to editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). As Andy quickly learns, Miranda is a diva with plenty of power within the magazine business and she isn't afraid to use it, and though Andy lands the job (primarily by being in the right place at the right time), she soon learns that working for Miranda could test the patience of a saint thanks to her endless demands and refusal to acknowledge the end of a work day. Andy struggles to hold on to the job and her sanity, knowing that a recommendation from Miranda can open nearly any door at any magazine, but can she handle the pressure without losing her mind along the way? The Devil Wears Prada also stars Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, and Adrian Grenier. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, (more)
A woman discovers that when it comes to love, sometimes opposites really do attract in this romantic comedy-drama. Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) is a successful African-American lawyer in her mid-thirties whose personal life is not going as well as her career. While she's attractive and intelligent, Kenya has rather high standards and isn't willing to settle for a man who isn't everything she wants. While attending a party, Kenya is introduced to Brian (Simon Baker), a landscape architect who handles the gardening at her host's mansion. Brian is immediately and obviously attracted to Kenya, through she doesn't feel the same way at all. However, she likes his work and hires him to refurbish her garden; before long, he asks her out on a date, and against her better judgment she accepts. While Kenya and Brian have little in common, in time they hit it off, and a romance begins to blossom between them. However, Brian happens to be white, which ruffles some feathers among Kenya's friends and family, who try to find her a more suitable, African-American suitor. Also starring Mike Epps, Donald Faison, Blair Underwood, and Alfre Woodard, Something New was the first feature film for director Sanaa Hamri, who previously established herself by directing music videos. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, (more)
- 2006
Executive-produced by ER and West Wing veteran John Wells, the weekly serialized drama series Smith focused on a group of highly skilled professional thieves, who covered their tracks by living normal, above-suspicion lives between heists. There was actually no character named "Smith"; this was the designation given by the Feds to the mysterious leader of the criminals, whom the audience knew to be Bobby Stevens (Ray Liotta), who maintained a respectable veneer as a sales representative for a paper-cup company. Ever so often, Bobby would make up an alibi for his dental-assistant wife Hope (Virginia Madsen) and his family, travel to another city, don new clothes and a new identity, and mastermind a high-profile theft with his accomplices, all of whom resided in different, far-flung cities. Bobby's "team" included womanizing hit man Jeff (Simon Baker), Vegas showgirl Annie (Amy Smart), parolee Tom (Johnny Lee Miller), and versatile utility man Joe (Franky G.). Dogging the thieves' trail with Javert-like diligence was the ruthless and sometimes unscrupulous federal agent Dodd (Chris Bauer). Debuting September 19, 2006 on CBS, Smith was among the first casualties of the 2006-2007 season, lasting only three episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, (more)
A terrifying legacy haunts a single mother in this sequel to the frightening box-office hit The Ring. Hoping to leave their terrifying experiences in Seattle behind them, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), move to the small town of Astoria, OR, where Rachel takes a job writing for the local newspaper. When Rachel learns of an unexplained murder, which occurred after a teenager watched a strange videotape with his girlfriend, she suspects her past is following her and she begins looking into the case. Rachel believes that the otherworldly Samara has come back; however, as she tries to convince others of the young girl's powers, her own son falls ill and is hospitalized, and Rachel's stories fail to convince either Dr. Emma Temple (Elizabeth Perkins), who suspects Rachel is guilty of child abuse, or David Rourke (Simon Baker), one of Rachel's colleagues who fears for Aidan's safety. Also starring Sissy Spacek, The Ring 2 was directed by Hideo Nakata; it was the first English-language project for the Japanese filmmaker, who previously made Ringu, the picture that was the basis for The Ring. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Simon Baker, (more)
George A. Romero, who revolutionized the American horror film in 1968 with the instant classic Night of the Living Dead, returns to his dystopian zombie cycle with this horror thriller. In Land of the Dead, the zombies whose numbers had been slowly but steadily growing through Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead now dominate the streets of most American cities, while urban skyscrapers have been taken over by surviving humans, usually greed-addled opportunists who allow the living to stay in their fortified compounds for a price. Guarding the buildings are rough-and-tumble mercenaries who have learned to do battle with the zombies, making use of powerful weapons to gain advantage. But as the zombie civilization grows, the creatures have begun to slowly evolve, with their dormant thought processes beginning to awaken, and as unrest begins to ferment among the mercenaries and the entrepreneurs who pay them, the ghouls may have found a way to defeat the last stronghold of humanity. Land of the Dead stars Dennis Hopper as arch capitalist Kaufman, and Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Robert Joy, and Asia Argento as some of the mercenaries; Asia Argento's father, Dario Argento, served as a producer on one of the earlier films in the series, Dawn of the Dead. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, (more)
Writer/director Alan Brown makes his feature-length debut with the comedy drama Book of Love, following his award-winning short film O Beautiful (released as part of Boys Life 4: Four Play). High school history teacher David (Simon Baker) is newly married to the lovely Elaine (Frances O'Connor). When they welcome the fresh-faced, teenaged student Chet (Gregory Smith) into their lives, both begin to feel a strain on their marriage after awhile. Book of Love premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the dramatic competition. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Frances O'Connor, Simon Baker, (more)
An old man and a young boy teach one another some lessons about magic and friendship in this adventure-comedy for all ages. Max (Matt Weinberg) is a fourth grader who has been having a tough time lately; his parents have died, and he's become the target of bullies at school. One night, not long before Halloween, Max and some friend at school are passing by a big house in the neighborhood that's said to be haunted, and they dare one another to find out who or what is inside. It turns out the spooky mansion is home to The Great Zamboni (Ben Kingsley), a once-famous magician who retired from the stage after he made his wife disappear during his act...and couldn't make her come back again. While Zamboni at first announces he'd rather be left alone, in time he and Max become friends, and with Zamboni's magical skills, Max learns how to stand up for himself, and together they foil a group of criminals. Spooky House also features Mercedes Ruehl; the film won the "Best of the Fest" and Children's Jury Award prizes at the 1999 Chicago International Children's Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Mercedes Ruehl, (more)
- 2001
Simon Baker stars in this weekly, 60-minute drama series as Nick Fallin, a hotshot attorney working for his father Burton's (Dabney Coleman) prestigious Philadelphia law firm. Arrested for doing cocaine, Nick is sentenced to 1,500 hours of community service. Reluctantly, he signs on as a part-time child advocate for an inner-city Legal Aid Services, all the while handling his usual high-profile clients. Ever so gradually, Nick finds himself caring more about his younger, poorer charges than he does about his wealthier customers -- and in so doing, he becomes the titular "guardian" of this CBS series. Also in the cast are Alan Rosenberg as Nick's skeptical new Legal Aid supervisor Alvin Masterson, Erica Leerhsen as Amanda Bowles, and Raphael Sbarge as Jake Strata. Created by David Hollander, The Guardian was originally set to premiere on September 18, 2001, but late-breaking news events caused the network to move the series up to September 25. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Simon Baker, Dabney Coleman, (more)
A director of contemporary comedies, Charles Shyer makes a genre leap into period costume drama with this lavish epic based on a controversial chapter of French history. Hilary Swank stars as Jeanne de la Motte Valois, a countess whose royal title has been stripped from her family by the crown in late 18th century. Determined to restore her good name and privilege, Jeanne schemes politically and sexually with a trio of co-conspirators that includes her gigolo lover, Retaux de Villette (Simon Baker), her husband, Nicolas (Adrien Brody), and a mysterious Italian count (Christopher Walken) to obtain a diamond necklace worth millions. Jeanne's cabal concocts a series of forged letters linking Marie Antoinette (Joely Richardson) and the stunning 2,800-carat jewelry to the debauched Cardinal Louis de Rohan (Jonathan Pryce), an act that could end up restoring rank to the Valois family or fanning the flames of growing revolutionary sentiments. The Affair of the Necklace (2001) co-stars Brian Cox as the narrator Minister Breteuil. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, (more)
An effort to circumvent global catastrophe becomes a disaster in its own right in this science fiction thriller. In the year 2050, Earth is on the verge of ecological disaster, and the Mars Terraforming Project has been created in hopes of making our neighboring planet habitable so that a colony of Earthlings might begin a new civilization there. But the project goes awry, and Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) is put in charge of a rescue mission to set the system back on its feet. Bringing along astronaut Robby Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and scientists Dr. Quinn Burchenal (Tom Sizemore) and Dr. Bud Chantillas (Terrence Stamp), Bowman and her crew set out for Mars, but disaster strikes and the landing craft crashes into the red planet. The crew is stranded without communications as Bowman struggles to find a way to get them home; to make matters worse, the robot that was designed to serve and protect them has gone haywire, and is now attempting to hunt them down as prey. Red Planet was originally to have been released as Mars, but the producers changed the title to avoid confusion with Mission to Mars, released earlier the same year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, (more)
The days when glam rock at its shaggiest ruled L.A.'s Sunset Strip come alive in this comedy set in 1972. On one day, a number of young artists, musicians, and seekers of fame and fortune find their lives intersecting in the sometimes sleazy heart of California's hipster community, including struggling fashion designer Tammy (Anna Friel), pretentious photographer Michael (Simon Baker), sensitive songwriter Felix (Rory Cochrane), and his dashiki-clad manager Green (Adam Goldberg). Sunset Strip was co-written by Randall Jahnson, who previously examined the rock scene in his scripts for The Doors and Dudes; Adam Collis made his directorial debut with this film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anna Friel, Simon Baker, (more)
A complex tale of uneasy alliances and hostilities along the Kansas/Missouri border during the Civil War, Ride with the Devil opens in 1862. The story concerns Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich), a proud son of the South ready to fight for the Confederate cause after his father is killed by Yankee troops. Chiles's friend, Jake Roedel (Tobey Maguire), joins the Bushwhackers, a group of renegade Southerners aligned with the Confederate Army, even though his family supports the Union cause - which sets him head-to-head with his father. The two young men, used to the slow pace and gracious lifestyle of the South's privileged class, become guerilla fighters and wander through the countryside together, encountering sudden, shocking and extreme acts of violence. Their comrades include valiant leader Black John (James Caviezel), paranoid madman Pitt (Jonathan Rhys Myers), gentleman George (Simon Baker), and Daniel (Jeffrey Wright), a laconic former slave who unexpectedly fighs for the south despite his race out of sheer loyalty to George - though the others regard him with suspicion. The Bushwhackers hide out in a shed near the home of Sue Lee Shelley (singer/songwriter/poet Jewel), a pregnant widow whose husband was killed three weeks after their marriage. Later, following a shocking and unexpected act of violence, a number of the men team up with the crazed Quantrill (John Ales) to stage an attack on an abolitionist stronghold, but Jake finds his moral conscience growing more acute, and takes the first steps toward romancing and starting a family with Sue Lee in what looks to be a very different post-Civil War future. Adapted from the novel Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell, Ride with the Devil was directed by Ang Lee, whose previous project was a very different look at America's past, the 1970s domestic drama The Ice Storm (1997). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Skeet Ulrich, Tobey Maguire, (more)
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