Freddie Highmore

Interview By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com

Child actors are that rare combination of serendipity and natural skill that make each one of them unique, regardless of their time in the spotlight. One child actor currently that delivers plenty of both is Freddie Highmore.

He has showed off his skill in films ranging from Finding Neverland to Charlie And The Chocolate Factory to August Rush. Highmore makes his most incredibly unique foray to date as a child actor as twins Simon and Jared Grace in the film adaptation of the children's book series The Spiderwick Chronicles.

When we first asked the now 16-year-old actor what motivated him to play twins, Freddie expressed in no uncertain terms that it was an opportunity simply too good to pass up.

'It was always the objective to play two ends and I got lucky that I got the opportunity of doing the film,' Highmore states.

The actor also shared with us whether or not playing twins made the regular everyday challenges and demands of working on a big-budget film that much more difficult.

'Logistically, you know, in getting the technicalities down, it took a lot of rehearsal especially in the scenes that they're there at the same time and in the same shots,' Freddie notes, 'I guess, working with everyone, it was a working process. I think we're all pleased with the result and it was great to see the finished film and it all matched together.'

'They were two very different people,' he adds, 'It was interesting to work with that and see genetically they are the same person and so, various events and changes that factor as they've grown up, and they grow up apart to the situations at the time of the film and it was interesting to work with [director] Mark [Waters] and a few other people, just to get that down and that difference between them.'

We also asked Freddie whether or not viewers will mistakenly believe now that he has a real-life twin brother upon seeing The Spiderwick Chronicles.

'A few people have seen the film and said, oh, I thought it was going to be like that, but who knows,' Highmore replies, 'Maybe, you never know how believable it is. I hope so.'

He also notes that playing twins is a lot more complex than it looks.

'Lots of the time, they had doubles,' Freddie recalls, 'They had various big gang of them, like ten sort of various people at different times. Doing the voices, they sometimes had to have other people reading it. But sometimes, I had the shot with my other self, there was almost nothing there and I had to react to whoever was filling in the space of the lines, where I'd do the voiceover beforehand, but I think it would be harder for Sarah [Bolger] and other actors in those situations to sort of know what to expect.'

A native of London, England, Freddie states that he was more focused on getting the twins' characteristics down effectively, rather than coming off believably American enough.

'For me, I just try to talk in it as much as possible and I always do it, so it became second nature,' he says, 'During the scenes, I never had to worry about my vowel sounds or intrusive R's, so I can just concentrate on the important stuff, the emotions.'

'I guess the technicalities you have to overcome at the start to work on the getting the important characteristics down,' Highmore adds, 'Also, you got to trust the people you're working with a lot and the animators and stuff. They've done such great stuff, so you just put your trust into what they're saying and get on with that.'

Highmore claims that much work was required to pull off believable performances. Not only was he playing two distinct twin boys, but Freddie had to often interact with inanimate objects like tennis balls, that would stand-in for the CGI that is added later in post-production. However, the young actor says that he took the overall experience in stride and it particularly paid off when he got to see the finished film.

'It was fun,' Freddie says, 'It was kind of weird seeing yourself in two places at once in time. I think everyone was pleased with the result and there were some complicated shooting processes at some point, but they worked out in the end.'

In an era where the movie field has been crowded by film franchise adaptations of children's book series ranging from Harry Potter to The Chronicles Of Narnia, we asked Freddie to make his case as to why The Spiderwick Chronicles stands out from the rest.

'I think it is a good movie,' he believes, 'I think it does appeal to lots of people and it's kind of scary at some moments like that going into a movie and really being scared rather than be scared.'

'I think the real core of the film is that the splitting up of the family, the parents' divorce, that central issue would make the film a good enough one even without the CGI,' Highmore continues, 'It'd hold its own with the family dealing with divorce and how they go through that and adults will definitely be able to perhaps relate to that situation, they'd definitely believe and get into that.'

In an age where so many young performers are running increasingly in risk of the entertainment industry affecting their overall well-being, Freddie states that in the end of the day, he's a regular kid, despite all the considerable Hollywood accolades he's received.

'I think it's kind of weird at some point when you're looking at it because I'm just a normal person really just going back to my normal school, normal friends, and normal people,' Highmore claims.

He reinforces this point when he's asked about what film projects he's got down the pipeline for the future.

'I just got school and stuff in May and June, there's some big exams you got to do in England,' Freddie notes, 'So just like everybody else, I'm going to be taking them and studying for them and that's that at the moment. But maybe something in the summer, I'll do that. I'll try my best.'