Freddie Highmore Says He Was Once Forced to Hide in a Broom Closet to Avoid Being Seen by a Demanding TV Host

Freddie Highmore isn’t the first talk show guest to have a bizarre experience, but his might just take the cake.

The British actor, 31, revealed during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday that he once had to hide in a broom closet to avoid running into an unnamed TV host.

“I’m trying to avoid saying the name, but this host doesn’t like seeing guests beforehand,” The Good Doctor star said. “So I was coming backstage with a couple of the producers and they looked up and they saw the host at the end of the corridor and they were really, really scared.”

Highmore said the producers “grabbed me and they threw me into the next door that was right by the hallway, and it was a broom closet — a dark broom closet.”

The Bates Motel star continued, “I was there for about a minute and they were like these sort of Secret Service agents on their phones like, ‘Are we clear? Are we clear? Have they gone? Can we bring him out?’ Terrified.”

“And then just walked out as if nothing happened!” he added.
By contrast, Highmore called the backstage atmosphere at Kimmel’s ABC talk show “the best setup.” He quipped, “So this is a much more pleasant way of spending my evening,” before adding with a laugh, “Thank you for being a decent human being.”

Kimmel, 55, jokingly tried to get Highmore to name-drop the host, saying, “Kathie Lee Gifford did that to you?” Highmore replied with a laugh, “Close.”

The talk show host then asked Highmore if he mentioned the incident when he appeared on the undisclosed show. “I’m not sure if they knew,” he said. “I haven’t said to this person. I thought it wasn’t a good moment to say, ‘Nice to see you. I was just put in a broom closet.'”
During Highmore’s last appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2021, the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star revealed that he had gotten married to a “wonderful woman.”

“It’s funny — ever since I’ve been wearing this ring, people have been asking me if I’m married, so I figured I should clarify it,” he said. “But I’m as happy as a Brit can be and I’m married to a very wonderful woman now. So yes, I feel very happy.”

Highmore also said that he’s still getting used to the word “wife.” During his appearance on Monday, Kimmel asked the actor if he had gotten used to the terminology yet.

“It is a little odd still,” he admitted. “I’m used to the ring, I don’t really play around with it as much, at the start you’re constantly fiddling with it. Fiddling? Yeah, that sounds OK. But yeah, [saying] ‘my wife’ is still a little odd.”