Transcription of Sunday Herald Sun Scans

I made the transcription of the Sunday Herald Sun interview scans I posted yesterday (you can see them HERE ).
To read it, click on Read More, and you can find it also in the Interviews Section as always.



Sunday Herald Sun


Source: dreamsofkate at cbi-headquarter
Mind Games
The Mentalist's Robin Tunney resists Simon Baker's charm offensive
By Anooska Tucker-Evans


Mental as Anything


There are few women in the world who wouldn't want to kiss Australian actor Simon Baker.
But his co-star Robin Tunney is one of them.
Tunney plays Det. Teresa Lisbon on the hit crime drama and says, despite there being inklings of romance between her character and Patrick Jane (Baker) throughout the first three seasons, a love match would be a bad idea.
"I don't know where it would go from there unless it was the end of the show because it's not one of the television dramas that shows you what's going on behind closed doors", she says.
"Like, are we supposed to be holding hands at crime scenes? Or that we have a Mentalist Junior and bring the baby to see dead bodies? I feel like, by virtue of the fact that they're the opposite sex, everyone is like, 'Is there going to be romance?' I feel like if there was, it would be embarassing the next episode."
While Tunney is clearly against the idea, she says the decision is not up to her so it still might happen- a prospect that makes her mother very happy.
"My mum's like, 'So are you and Simon going to kiss this year? I feel that the romance is really going to happen this year'", Tunney says, imitating her mother.
"And I'm like, 'Mum, I have no idea', and she's like 'Yes you do and you just can't tell me'. I'm like 'Mum, I don't work for CIA, it's CBS, we're not that serious. But I'd tell you if I knew.'"
There may be no love on screen for the pair at the moment, but off screen the two share a genuine, platonic fondness for each other.
Tunney cannot speak highly enough of Baker, praising him for everything from his work ethic to his devotion for his wife, Australian actress Rebecca Rigg.
"He's got a great marriage, he's got a fantastic wife and I think the idea that he's been married for (so long) is the best thing for me because her's in such a solid situation", Tunney says.
"He loves women and he really respects them and he's the guy who can go, 'Oh, that girl's pretty, but it's like the most benign thing in the world".
The 39-year-old calls Baker her "TV husband" and says he is her rock.
"I'm really scared when this show ends because I really rely on him for advice on things" she says.
"I'm like, 'Well, what do you think if I bought this house?' I have a strong, male figure who's in my life all the time".
Tunney, who got her first break in the witch film 'The Craft', also credits Baker with making her a better actor.
Having done little TV work before 'The Mentalist', apart from guest roles and a two-year stint in the drama 'Prison Break', Tunney says she has learned a lot from Baker who starred in 'Home and Away' and HeartBreak High before scorring the lead role in the hit American legal series 'The Gueardian'.
"He loves going to work and I think that attitude on set definitely goes from the top down", she says.
"He expects everybody to work really hard. I think a lot of other people are, like, asleep at the wheel by this point (season four) and they're happy to do the same thing they've always done, but it's because of Simon that you want to go and do a great job.
"The bar is raised and it's largely due to him".
She even says when the series does end she will be stealing some of his tricks of the trade.
"There are little tricks that he used going in (to the series) I wish I knew, like, 'Yeah, my character has a couch that he likes to lay on', so he doesen't have to stand up in those scenes. And 'My character wears really nice suits so I'll be looking dapper of the next seven years'", she says imitating Baker's voice.
"He's very specific in those choices and if I ever did another TV show again I'd totally rip him off".
Rather than another TV series, though, Tunney says her next step would be into film.
In The Mentalist off-season she starred in the small independent film See Girl Run, which she says reinvigorated her after playing Lisbon for so long.
"Playing a different character was really fun and it's great to be surrounded by a different energy", she says.
"When you're trying to make an independent film it's like a group of kids trying to push a rock up a hill. They're there for the right reasons because they want to learn and they're given opportunities that they wouldn't normally get".
While movis may be Tunney's longterm plan, she says she is content to remain on The Mentalist as long as the storylines continue to be interesting and the characters keep developing.
"I feel blessed to have a plce to go where I like everybody and it really is a family and I feel like it's helping my acting", she says.
When it is time for the show to end though, Tunney and Baker have a plan. "We want to do the last season on the Gold Coast where is farm is", says Tunney, who has been to Australia 10 times.
"He's like, 'Tunney will go, she loves Australia'."