Here is the translation of an italian article I had previously posted HERE.
The picture shown above was taken by the wonderful @leprecauno84 (IG)
I find this one a very beautiful article (with a great interview), please enjoy. I’m sorry for any possible mistake. I’d also like to thank the super kind @larikisb for the terrific help! 😚
Text on the image: Simon Baker, 47 years old, was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. He was a water polo and surf champion.
Three children and almost two decades of marriage. Despite his past as a surfer, he debuted on the big screen as a serial seducer. Here is the real self of the Australian who eventually chose the mind instead of the body.
At first glance the atmosphere reminds the one of “The Devil Wears Prada”, his most successful role on the big screen: a luxurious hotel in the centre of Paris, a huge suite equipped with bottles of champagne, luxury everywhere, swarms of female press officers dressed too elegantly for noon, who run frantically, provoking anxiety, between rooms. But in Simon Baker’s room I find him (who played a “serial seducer” in the movie with a ruthless Meryl Streep and a naive Anne Hathaway) surprisingly alone, sitting compound wearing a dark suit and white shirt, polished shoes and a hint of dark circles, which makes it more authentic.
He speaks in a calm voice, without gesturing, leaning forward when he wants to emphasize what he is saying. He does not laugh, at most he smiles. He perfectly embodies (I can’t say if naturally or playing a role) the official ambassador for “Gentlemen Only Absolute”, the new fragrance by Givenchy, which keeps extending the collaboration with him over the years, for his solid reputation as a grounded man, father of three and with already nearly 20 years of marriage behind him.
Only reading between the lines of what he says you can find traces of ancient anxieties, reminiscences of an old life when he was living in the other side of the world, he was unknown and penniless.
He is a man in love with the sea and he admits, without fearing to become the ultimate australian stereotype, that he learned the rules of masculinity by waiting for a wave.
MM - Is it true that the beach has been “your family”?
SB – I grew up as the child of a subculture, of a community with a precisely defined hierarchical structure, that was based on experience, skills and mutual respect. In my youth I spent most of my time in such environment. It helped shaping many aspects of the person I am today.
MM - But why surfing and not something else?
SB - Because of its moments of absolute fleeting. Everything instantly moves and disappears. And because it requires dedication, balance and commitment.
MM - Speaking about commitment, you’ve come a long way to get to where you are now. You started as a bricklayer.
SB - My tasks were limited to carrying bricks, stacking them and to mixing the cement. I did it for survival.
MM - Did you do it for a long time?
SB - No. And, yes: I come from a long way.
MM - But you seem anchored to the past. For your directorial debut you have chosen “Breath”, a story of identity and formation among the waves. Are you paying tribute to your past or it’s a sort of redemption ceremony?
SB - It is more a challenge. Sometimes difficult, exhausting. We had a small budget available, we shot in remote places and a lot of scenes were shot in the ocean. More than once I found myself wondering why I was doing it.
MM - And in those moments, what did you answer yourself?
SB - That at the end, looking behind, I would have realized that it was worth it. The movie is based on the book with the same title, hugely successful in Australia, and in which I have found many aspects of my own character.
MM - Now you can finally shelve your board! Your plan is to stand behind the camera.
SB - I don’t know. I’m curious to know what kind of response the movie will get.
MM - Actor, director… Do you also have a plan C?
SB - Director of photography. Pictures can tell extraordinary stories.
MM - Speaking about “Breath”, what leaves you breathless?
SB - Purity. Either of a moment, of a sensation, or of a feeling. When any rules or filters disappear.
MM - The gentleman, that you often embodies, on the contrary, should obey some rules and codes. Can therefore be accused of being inauthentic?
SB - I think that his elegance is a spontaneous attitude, and it comes from the ability to build a connection with other people. You can look for that kind of connection, propitiate it, but you can’t force it. It’s the expression of a talent.
MM - Speaking about unusual abilities, do you really cut your hair yourself?
SB - I appreciate the idea of being self-sufficient, knowing how to take care of myself. I want to work with my hands, I attempt with gardening, I like to build things, to repair them when are broken.
MM - The perfect husband!
SB - Family is a sharing condition in continuous evolution. If you take it for granted, something changes and you have to work to keep up.
MM - Have you always been such a philosopher?
SB - Actually I am an instinctive. In my youth I relied on my physicality, but growing older, I have learned to rely more on the mind. It is sounder, but exactly as the physique needs exercise, needs “gym”.
MM - Just like “The Mentalist”, the character that made you famous…
SB - Probably without this role, I would not be in this room and Givenchy wouldn’t have ever chosen me as their brand ambassador. He gave me great opportunities without overwhelming myself. I worked hard to find the right balance in my life and to continue interacting naturally with anyone, trying to understand their thoughts, learning to share something is the most seductive aspect.
MM - What is the reason for this work on yourself?
SB - I don’t want to feel isolated, but to be part of a group, of a tribe.
MM - The natural desire for normality..
SB - I think that each of us alternate between obvious moments of self satisfaction and other of introspection, when you’d like to go unnoticed, to be a wallflower.
MM - Extremes! Any acceptable golden mean?
SB - Sometimes I wish I could be like a great writer, whose books are read by everyone, but no one really knows his face.
Interview by Marco Morello
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