Freddie Highmore Biography
Born: February 14, 1992
Date of Birth: February 14, 1992
British-born child actor Freddie Highmore, whose mother is a talent agent, made his feature film debut at the age of seven in Women Talking Dirty (1999), starring Helena Bonham Carter. He then acted in the TV movie Happy Birthday Shakespeare (2000) and landed roles in several mini-series before getting his big break with a lead role in Jean-Jacques Annaud's film, Two Brothers (2004).
Freddie has worked nonstop since. Also in 2004, he played Kate Winslet's son in Finding Neverland. She was amazed by Highmore, saying in an interview, "He is quite something else. I would literally get hairs up on the back of my neck watching this kid act. It's rare that you feel that not only with a child actor, but also any actor you work with. You very rarely have this incredibly unnerving feeling that they've completely transported themselves into someone else's head. With this kid, it's a scary gift." Highmore won several awards, including a 2005 Empire Award as Best Newcomer for his work in the film.
Soon after, he nabbed another starring role as one of the five children in Five Children and It (2004) with Kenneth Branagh, then landed the title role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), starring opposite Johnny Depp (with whom he'd previously worked in Finding Neverland,and who recommended Freddie for the role). For his performance, Freddie won a 2006 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award as Best Young Actor. He also worked with Russell Crowe in A Good Year (2006), playing Crowe's character as a child.
Though Freddie once said he's not planning to continue acting as an adult, he continued to work in movies such as The Art of Getting By (2011). From 2013 to 2017 he played Norman Bates on the A&E series Bates Motel.
Since 2017, he has starred as autistic young Dr. Shaun Murphy on the critically acclaimed ABC-TV series The Good Doctor. For his work on the show, he received a 2018 Golden Globe nomination.
In his spare time Freddie enjoys playing the clarinet and guitar, as well as video games and soccer.