With the lead role on TV’s top new show, Simon Baker has had a heckuva year — yet the Aussie star still has big plans for 2009.

“I signed for five years,” the actor, who plays a showbiz psychic turned sleuth on CBS’ The Mentalist, tells Parade. “It’s a good outlet for me.”

The father of three, who has a daughter and two sons with his actress wife Rebecca Rigg, also talks about turning the big 4-0 in July. “I think I’m going to be fine,” he says of the milestone. “I stay fit, mostly mucking about with the boys [Claude, 9, and Harry, 7]. And I love the wisdom that comes with age.”

He also loves America — and is thinking about becoming a citizen, having lived here since 1995.

“A few years ago, we went back to Australia,” he tells the mag for their Jan. 4 issue. “But after seven months there, I found I missed America and our friends here.” So he wants to make his stay here more permanent. “The morning after your election in November, I said to my wife Rebecca, ‘You know, I’m thinking about becoming an American,’ and then she said that she felt the same way.”

So will he be hiring a party planner to plan a U.S. Citizen bash anytime soon? “The show keeps me too busy. But it’s going to happen. People always talk about how great America is, but actions speak better than words.”

source: starmagazine.com