Simon Baker got his start on E Street, a relative latecomer to the Aussie soap scene: it kicked off in 1989 and ran until 1993 on Network Ten. It was set in Sydney’s Inner West and sought to portray a rougher, less idyllic community than that of classic soaps like Home and Away. Through its central characters – a doctor, a publican, a vicar and a police officer – it was able to explore edgier social issues in its early years before pursuing more sensational storylines like the Mr Bad serial killings.

In over 100 episodes, Baker played Sam Farrell, a young police constable who leaves the force after an ethical dilemma. In this clip, the Robert Brown Memorial Community Centre, built to honour the local vicar after his death in a car crash, has been vandalised, and Sergeant George Sullivan (played by Les Dayman) pressures Sam to tell him what he knows about the perpetrators. Tight close-ups ramp up the tension and Baker displays the intensity he’d later bring to his seven-year stint as the lead on The Mentalist, playing a police consultant who uses his highly developed knowledge of human psychology to solve crimes. He also directed and produced on the show, and in 2017 directed and starred in a film adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel Breath. But he’s perhaps best known for his role as Christian, the smarmy seducer in crowd favouriteThe Devil Wears Prada (2006).

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