Simon Baker's Mom Reacts Shocked to His New Show 'Scarpetta'

Simon Baker recently shared an interesting story about his new TV show, Scarpetta, revealing that one of the biggest fans of the series is his mother. She was so excited when she found out he was cast in the role that she "nearly jumped out of her skin." The Australian actor made this revelation during an appearance on the Today show.

The show is based on the Scarpetta book series by Patricia Cornwell, which consists of 29 books and follows the life of forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Simon's mother, Elizabeth Labberton, has been a huge fan of the books for years. She has read all of them and continues to be deeply engaged with the series even after Simon joined the production.

"I think since I've shot the thing, she's read all of them again, which is kind of unbelievable," Simon said. "And she sort of quizzes me constantly about like, 'Well, how are they dealing…' and I'm like, 'Mom, please.'"

Elizabeth has always supported Simon's career, even offering feedback on some of his previous projects. "She watches it. I mean, she's my mom," he explained. He recalled that the first job he ever did, the only critique she had was about the woman who played his mother in the show. "She thought there could've been someone else that could've played that role better."

Simon's mother, Elizabeth, was just 19 when he was born. The family lived in Tasmania before moving to New Guinea when Simon was nine months old. She raised Simon and his older sister with her then-husband, Barry Baker. However, the couple split when Simon was two, and Barry had very little contact with the family afterward.

On the show Who Do You Think You Are?, Simon shared that his father went on an "incredible adventure" and didn't return with his family. "I didn't know he was my dad. He was a family friend, Uncle Barry. I've struggled with that," he said. They eventually reunited when Simon was 18.

"Families have many different forms, and I think if you can look at your own past and the past of your ancestors with compassion, you can carry that forward with you with a little bit more wisdom," he added.

In Scarpetta, Simon plays FBI profiler Benton Wesley, alongside Nicole Kidman as Dr. Kay Scarpetta and Jamie Lee Curtis as her sister, Dorothy Farinelli. To prepare for the role, Simon adopted a Virginian accent, which he admitted took a lot of time to perfect.

"It's reasonably hard, but it's just practice. It's like learning a song, you know, hitting certain notes and certain sounds, and it's muscular, so it's in your mouth," he said on Today.

Simon also praised his co-stars, saying that working with Nicole and Jamie had been "wonderful." He described them as "consummate professionals" who brought the production to new heights. "Jamie produced the show, Nicole's company produced the show as well, everyone's invested in doing the best work that they can do, so you get to work, and there's absolute focus," he said.

"That doesn't mean you don't have fun. It's important to have a good time, it brings the best out in people, but it's great, it's really wonderful."