Freddie Highmore, the child prodigy who left acting to study Philology
The Englishman, who stars in the series ‘The Good Doctor’, rose to fame at the age of 13 after playing the boy Charlie in the film ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’
“Everything is fine here in Vancouver. How about you?” Freddie Highmore (London, 29 years old) answers the phone in early October, speaking perfect Spanish, in the studio where the fifth season of The Good Doctor is being filmed, a series for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2018 and which, with its first season, was a huge success that same year. Much of the conversation ends up being in English, although he acknowledges that in a month, when he travels to Madrid for the premiere of Jaume Balagueró’s new film, Bank of Spain Heist, he will speak Spanish “all the time”. Highmore, at once intimate and reserved, unintentionally escapes stereotypes, both on screen and in real life. A philologist, he lives in Vancouver, has no social media and got married in secret a few weeks ago.
The actor became famous at the age of 13, after playing the role of Charlie in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He then went on to star in several children’s films, such as Arthur and the Minimoys and The Spiderwick Chronicles, but decided to take a break from acting for a while to graduate in Arabic and Spanish Philology at Cambridge University. He also lived in Madrid for a year, doing a translation internship at a law firm. According to Highmore, his career as a child prodigy was put on hold for “different reasons”, but they could be summed up in one word: curiosity. The 18-year-old, who despite his early fame had a “normal” childhood, did not want to miss out on his university experience and felt a special fascination for languages: “I like being able to communicate with people and delve into cultures other than my own. And I believe that the best way to experience this, whether in literature or film, is without having to resort to subtitles or translation”. And as a backdrop, a special fondness for Iberian culture: “I’ve always felt drawn to Spain,” he adds.
After that break, he returned to acting. For five seasons he played Norman Bates, the killer in Hitchcock’s Psycho, in the series The Bates Motel, and since 2018 he has been the face of The Good Doctor. And, a year ago, he traveled to Madrid to film Way Down. He then recalled a moment in 2010 when, surrounded by Spanish flags, big screens and thousands of fans, he celebrated Spain’s World Cup victory in Plaza Cibeles. This time, he jumped up again shouting a goal, but surrounded by cameras and with the script in his hand. “It was very funny,” he recalls. “We closed off Plaza Cibeles and recreated the event that I had so many memories of.”
