The 10 Most Underrated Simon Baker Movies, Ranked (from Least to Most Underrated)

Simon Baker is best known to many for charismatic turns on television, but his film work stretches across historical drama, horror, romance, satire, and razor-edged finance thrillers. Across these projects he’s played everything from a frontier gentleman and a wry journalist to a corporate rainmaker and a post-apocalyptic survivor, often anchoring ensembles packed with heavy hitters.

This countdown gathers ten feature films that showcase that range. To make the mix useful, each entry includes concrete details—roles, filmmakers, notable collaborators, production context, and release facts—so you can quickly place each title and decide what to watch next.

‘The Ring Two’ (2005)

Directed by Hideo Nakata, the sequel to the breakout horror hit follows investigative journalist Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) as she confronts the lingering curse of a malevolent videotape. Simon Baker appears as Max Rourke, a high-school teacher whose involvement pulls the investigation from a newsroom back into domestic spaces and child-services scrutiny. The film reintroduces iconography from the franchise while shifting key set-pieces to the Oregon coast and rural Washington, using water imagery and hospital settings as major backdrops.

The production brought Nakata—the director of the original Japanese ‘Ringu’—to an English-language studio project, blending American franchise requirements with source-culture staging choices. Released by DreamWorks Pictures in wide theatrical rollout, the film opened atop the North American box office and later expanded internationally, pairing its marketing with the era’s viral-media visuals and TV spots that emphasized returning characters and the new educator figure played by Baker.

‘Red Planet’ (2000)

‘Red Planet’ is a science-fiction survival drama about an expedition whose habitat systems fail during a survey mission to Mars. Simon Baker plays Chip Pettengill, a systems specialist whose technical remit intersects with life-support diagnostics and on-the-surface navigation, placing him inside a crew that also includes Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Tom Sizemore. The story alternates between an orbiting command vessel and ground-level treks across rocky terrain as the team confronts oxygen scarcity, mission drift, and conflicting protocols.

Directed by Antony Hoffman for Warner Bros., the film combined large studio soundstage work with location photography that stood in for Martian landscapes. Production deployed full-scale suits, miniature elements, and digital composites typical of late-era photochemical workflows. The score by Graeme Revell and use of telemetry-readouts in cockpit and rover interfaces reflected contemporary aerospace design language adopted for cinematic readability.

‘Sex and Death 101’ (2007)

Written and directed by Daniel Waters, this dark satire follows a man who receives a mysterious email listing every person he has slept with—and will sleep with—in exact order. Simon Baker leads as Roderick Blank, whose corporate marketing background and meticulously planned life are disrupted by the list’s predictive accuracy. The plot intersects his arc with a vigilante subplot involving a serial prankster nicknamed “Death Nell,” tying personal behavior to media spectacle and tabloid framing.

The production blends office-park locations, restaurant interiors, and Los Angeles exteriors with stylized title cards and voiceover to track the protagonist’s movements. Distributed by an independent label, the film premiered on the festival circuit before limited release. Its ensemble includes Winona Ryder, Patton Oswalt, and Leslie Bibb, and it uses in-universe email UX and handheld inserts to move clues forward as the list exerts pressure on the lead character’s choices.

‘The Affair of the Necklace’ (2001)

Set in pre-Revolutionary France, this period drama dramatizes the infamous diamond-necklace scandal that entangled members of the aristocracy and the Church. Simon Baker portrays Rétaux de Villette, a figure involved in forging correspondence and facilitating schemes around noble identities. The narrative centers on Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy (Hilary Swank) as she maneuvers through court politics and reputational risk, with Baker’s character threading together intermediaries and courtiers.

Directed by Charles Shyer for Warner Bros., the film was shot across French and European locations and studio builds that recreated Versailles-era interiors, including gilded salons and ecclesiastical chambers. The costume design emphasizes rank, patronage, and access to court, while the cast features Jonathan Pryce, Christopher Walken, and Adrien Brody. Release campaigns highlighted the scandal’s historical footprint and the way forged letters propelled financial transactions and credibility cascades.

‘Land of the Dead’ (2005)

George A. Romero’s return to his landmark zombie cycle situates survivors inside a fortified city protected by a mercenary-run perimeter. Simon Baker stars as Riley Denbo, the designer and driver of the armored vehicle “Dead Reckoning,” whose logistical expertise underpins supply runs beyond the walls. The plot tracks tensions between working-class crews and an elite enclave controlled by a property magnate played by Dennis Hopper, with John Leguizamo and Asia Argento in key roles.

Shot in Canada with extensive prosthetic effects and large-scale night exteriors, the production combined practical gore gags with digital crowd extensions to realize overrun streets and river crossings. Released by Universal Pictures with an R rating, the film restored Romero’s authorial credit to studio distribution and introduced organized zombie behavior as a tactical challenge, altering operational assumptions for convoy security and urban defense depicted on screen.

‘Something New’ (2006)

This contemporary romance pairs a high-performing Los Angeles accountant with a landscape architect she meets through a blind date. Simon Baker plays Brian Kelly, whose small-business client roster and site-design projects connect him to the heroine’s work-life schedule, neighborhood redesign, and family events. The story uses work consultations and house-and-garden makeovers to move the couple between public and private spaces while friends and relatives offer conflicting advice.

Directed by Sanaa Hamri for Focus Features, the film was shot on Los Angeles locations that include parks, residential streets, and corporate offices, with costume and production design emphasizing contrast between professional dress codes and off-duty hikes or job-site visits. The supporting cast includes Sanaa Lathan, Donald Faison, and Alfre Woodard. Marketing framed the film around dating conventions and workplace-life balance, with trailers emphasizing banter and project-based interactions that bring the leads together.

‘Ride with the Devil’ (1999)

Ang Lee’s Civil War drama follows irregular fighters aligned with Confederate bushwhacker units operating along the Missouri–Kansas border. Simon Baker appears as George Clyde, a wealthy Missourian whose resources and social connections intersect with the unit’s shifting alliances and seasonal movements. The narrative places characters in rural hideouts, makeshift camps, and border towns as winter and spring campaigns change the calculus of raids and reprisals.

Filmed primarily in the Midwest with period-accurate firearms, wardrobe, and horse handling, the production foregrounds historically informed dialects and foodways while tracking political fractures within the group. Distributed by a major studio with a measured platform release, the film’s ensemble includes Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel, and Jeffrey Wright. Home-video editions restored scenes and emphasized production diaries, including behind-the-scenes footage of the logistical planning for ambush staging.

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (2006)

This newsroom-adjacent fashion-world comedy-drama centers on a junior assistant (Anne Hathaway) hired at a top New York magazine overseen by a formidable editor-in-chief (Meryl Streep). Simon Baker plays Christian Thompson, a published writer who introduces the protagonist to insider networks, editorial galas, and the art-and-literary overlap that surrounds major runway events. His character functions as an industry contact who helps translate magazine politics into practical career steps and invitations.

Produced by Fox 2000 Pictures and filmed in New York and Paris, the project received access to designer wardrobes and show venues, with Patricia Field supervising costume curation and fittings. The cast also features Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, and the soundtrack aligns runway cues with pop selections. The film’s release included fashion-media partnerships and promotional tie-ins around Fashion Week schedules and glossy-magazine coverage.

‘Margin Call’ (2011)

Set over roughly 24 hours inside a Wall Street investment bank, this ensemble drama follows a risk-management discovery that triggers an emergency response from floor managers up to the executive suite. Simon Baker plays Jared Cohen, head of sales and trading, whose mandate is to unwind positions quickly once models and stress-tests expose the firm’s vulnerability. The script tracks meetings across risk, compliance, and executive boardrooms, with characters moving between server rooms, glass-walled offices, and predawn trading floors.

Written and directed by J. C. Chandor, the film features Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Zachary Quinto, and Demi Moore. Shot largely in New York office towers, the production leaned on practical lighting and minimal sets to maintain real-time pacing. Released first on the festival circuit and then in limited theatrical and VOD windows, it earned awards attention for original screenplay and ensemble work, with finance-sector dialogue grounded in contemporary derivatives jargon.

‘L.A. Confidential’ (1997)

Curtis Hanson’s neo-noir adapts James Ellroy’s novel about interlocking police investigations, tabloid scandal, and political ambition in mid-century Los Angeles. Simon Baker appears as Matt Reynolds, a young actor whose entanglement with vice operations and gossip-sheet machinations becomes a pivotal link between investigators played by Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe. The plot threads Reynolds through a web of informants, studio publicity offices, and off-the-books interrogations as jurisdictional rivalries escalate.

The production built meticulous period interiors and used practical locations across Southern California, pairing them with Dante Spinotti’s cinematography to reproduce era-specific lighting schemes. The film received major awards recognition—including multiple Academy Award nominations and wins—and its ensemble includes Kim Basinger, James Cromwell, and Danny DeVito. Studio marketing emphasized the novel’s pedigree and the film’s blend of police-procedural detail with entertainment-industry settings.

Share your favorite deep-cut Simon Baker performance from this list in the comments!