The Mentalist Simon Baker on life as TV's smartest sleuth

As the third series of The Mentalist returns to Channel 5 this week, TV&Satellite Week magazine caught up with the show's star to find out more...

Your character, Patrick Jane, is one of the more unusual sleuths to grace the small screen, isn't he?
"In most American shows of this kind, the lead characters are very black-and-white. They're either wacky and zany or deadly earnest. But Jane vacillates somewhere in between, and he's more of an eccentric. Jane is a complex bag of tricks. You could easily mistake him for a bit of a simpleton, but there's a lot more to him than meets the eye. He's essentially a very dark character who has a good sense of humour. It's far more interesting because there are more areas you can go to in every scene."

There's been plenty of speculation among fans of The Mentalist regarding the identity of Red John, the serial killer who murdered Jane's wife. What do you make of that?
"I love all that speculation. It seems all TV these days has to be something that people want to chat, argue and communicate about, which is good. I love talking about it with the show's creator, Bruno Heller, and setting out different possible scenarios and playing little hypothetical games. But he never lets on how it will play out. He's a cagey character."

If Red John were finally unmasked, would that be the end of Jane's crime-solving days?
"That's a good one to debate. Is that the thing that drives him? I never watched the original TV series of The Fugitive. Did Richard Kimble ever catch the one-armed man?"

We hear the show's success has led the studio to give you a lucrative new contract...
"I'm very fortunate to be able to make a living from this. I've spent many years scratching a living from acting and I'm lucky enough to work in a profession where, most of the time, financial freedom comes with success."

Do you watch many crime dramas yourself?
"No, I tend to over-analyse them, but I was a big fan a youngster. I used to love Columbo, and there was a great show in Australia called Homicide. But I always thought the English ones were the best. Prime Suspect is pretty fantastic."

Like many Austrlian actors, you started off in Home and Away, didn't you?
"Working on the soaps is a great way to get a lot of experience in a short period of time, and there are now a lot more Australians in LA than there used to be. When I first came over there weren't so many and we all knew each other and were pretty close."

Finally, does living in America makes you appreciate Australia even more?
"They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I certainly don't take it so much for granted now when I go back. I have friends in Brisbane who were affected by the floods, and that experience really brought out the strength of the community and the Australian character. We're all prisoners in this together!"

The Mentalist returns on Friday March 4 at 9pm on Channel 5.