Freddie Highmore starred in Finding Neverland, a film inspired by the creator of Peter Pan - the boy who wouldn't grow up - but in real life, Highmore's absolutely ready to take on grown up roles. The talented 19 year tackles his first high school/coming of age tale with The Art of Getting By from first-time feature film writer/director Gavin Wiesen. Highmore plays George, an intelligent, introverted high school student who doesn't see the point in completing his classwork or homework assignments. His teachers and the school's principal (played by Blair Underwood) know he has potential, but it takes the threat of not graduating (and thus disappointing his mother who has more than her fair share of issues to deal with) to ignite a fire under George.
The Art of Getting By shows a side of Highmore audiences haven't seen yet. And with his busy schedule - he's enrolled at Cambridge University - even Highmore's not sure when we'll next see him on the big screen. Promoting the Fox Searchlight film, Highmore talked about the appeal of The Art of Getting By, picking roles, and the importance of college.
Freddie Highmore Interview
You don't seem to be in a rush when it comes to choosing your film projects. Are you just really picky?
Freddie Highmore: [Laughing] "I'm not sure. I guess I've always enjoyed keeping up with my studies at the same time, and doing two things. I've never sort of completely focused on the acting. I've always enjoyed carrying on with normal school. I started at Cambridge University in October, so I just finished Friday, actually, my last end of the year exams for my first year. I've enjoyed doing other things and I think if there wasn't something that was absolutely brilliant and that stood out to me, I might as well just carry on with the schooling and being like everyone else, and going through life in a normal way."
How do you know something is brilliant? What does it take to catch your eye?
Freddie Highmore: "I think you get to the stage where it's sort of just about whether a script really appeals to you and connects to you, but also whether you feel that you can add something to it. I think that's what people are looking for is, after you've done a few films, you need to come up with your own ideas and bring something to the table. Yeah, I guess something that connects to you and you can relate to."
"I think with The Art of Getting By, even if I don't exactly relate to the way George deals with the situation as he did, I think everyone - myself included - relates to those core feelings that drive the film. You know, that first love and figuring out who you want to be. That really stood out to me."
Was it the first love, the coming of age story, or just who George was that drew you in?
Freddie Highmore: "I think it was the fresh take on growing up. I think a lot of scripts that I get to read, and some films as well, have a kind of...I don't know...a stylized view of growing up and that first love and all that that entails. And I felt that The Art of Getting By dealt with it in a real way, and in a way that doesn't try and make out that love goes smoothly the whole time. There are troubles along the way and, yeah, it doesn't try and hide anything, I think."
Do you like working with first time writer/directors? What was your experience with Gavin Wiesen?
Freddie Highmore: "It was fantastic working with Gavin, actually. Obviously it was his script and his whole idea and in some way it was based on his life, but he was great. You could not really tell that it was his first film. He was so evidently connected to it, but at the same time he allowed us to bring our own ideas and give our own interpretations to the movie. He didn't say, 'This didn't happen like this.' He realized that, yeah, it did have to change and become something new that everyone could work on together."
A lot of writers are precious with their words, but he was actually real collaborative?
Freddie Highmore: "Yeah, absolutely. Especially collaborative in terms of allowing us in some ways to play with his story and his experience."
You and Emma Roberts have really great chemistry on screen.
Freddie Highmore: "Everyone says that. 'Oh, you've got such good chemistry.' [Laughing] Obviously it was great working with Emma. We got along right from the start. In some ways I don't think you can sort of create chemistry on camera if you don't really get on off set, so we got on really well. It certainly made the more intimate moments a lot easier."
This is your first real teen/mature role. How easy is it for you to progress into these older characters?
Freddie Highmore: "It seems naturally to me, really. I guess as you get older you continue playing characters that get older as you do. So I don't think I really sort of changed my approach at all, or anything like that."
A lot of young actors aren't allowed to advance in age. We still see actors who are 19, 20, 21, playing kids who are 13 or 14. Are you still getting those types of scripts or are filmmakers accepting the fact that you're getting older now?
Freddie Highmore: "I guess there's a certain amount of letting people know that you have grown up that has to go on. People don't necessarily think of me as 10 years old, but they see Finding Neverland or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and say, 'That kid would be great.' Or even films that have just come out, like this one here. It was a year ago that we shot it, so I guess it gets tricky that way if you're constantly changing. But no, I haven't found it too challenging."
I read something on IMDB that claimed you said you don't want to be an actor when you grow up. Did you actually say that?
Freddie Highmore: [Laughing] "People often bring that up. I'm not too sure if I said I don't want to do it when I'm older. I guess I was probably just saying I've enjoyed doing other things and I'm not totally set on it. And I think that's still true, to some extent. It's not that I've given up everything just to do acting. Yeah, I'm pleased that when I finally have to make a choice as to what to do with the rest of my life in a few years time then I'll be in a better situation to make that decision."
You're not going to college now for anything to do with acting. You're taking other courses?
Freddie Highmore: "Yeah. I'm doing Arabic and Spanish at Cambridge so, yeah, it's completely different. I haven't done any drama there either. There's quite a big theatre thing that goes on, but I think it's quite nice to keep it separate, really."
Do they approach you and ask why you're not involved?
Freddie Highmore: "Yeah, I guess a few people sort of wonder why I don't get involved. But I've just really enjoyed having it separate and being able to go back to a certain amount of normality which is nice, as opposed to being tied to that."
This film's a coming of age story but it seems to connect with older audiences.
Freddie Highmore: "I think there's lots of different sides to it. Obviously people who are going through it now might be nearer age-wise to that situation, but everyone remembers that first love and remembers the point in time when you have to stop being such a passive individual, stop having everything sort of put on the plate for you and start making decisions for yourself and saying, 'No, I'm going to be an active participant in my life. I'm going to go out and do things that I want, and act upon my desires.' I think, yeah, everyone goes through that. And then there's the other side as well, perhaps looking from a parent's point of view of letting go of your child as they got to that point. I don't think it's representative of one side or one way in the film."
You wear a long coat for a majority of the film, although you do ultimately shed it. Did that become a part of your character after a while, a way for you to get in touch with George?
Freddie Highmore: "Perhaps in some ways because we always wore it. I think we might have picked it up in the 26th Street flea market, a couple of days before filming we were still looking for the right coat. I'm not sure if that was the exact one we ended up using, but I remember going around with Gavin and Emma just looking for the overcoat which we got in the end."
You've been involved with larger studio productions. What's it like being a part of this smaller, independent project?
Freddie Highmore: "It's different, I guess. It was more full-on in some ways, and perhaps grabbing shots on the go. But at the same time, that added a real excitement to it. And I think something about working in a smaller team and a smaller group of people means that there is more of a collective family atmosphere to the set. Everyone's working together for that same goal."
Does grabbing shots on the go help or hinder you as an actor? You don't have as much time to think about what you're doing.
Freddie Highmore: "Yeah, I guess perhaps it comes out in a more natural way sometimes. I think as with everything, but more importantly for a film that gets done so quickly, I try and do my preparation beforehand and then get on the set having done that preparation and see what happens, and not sort of worrying at the last minute about what sort of things you have to do - and hopefully come to set with lots of ideas. And most of them will be turned away or most of them will be silly, but as long as one of them comes out good, then that's all that's needed."
Can you think of any suggestions you came up with for the character that the writer/director vetoed?
Freddie Highmore: [Laughing] "No, I think one of the great things about working with Gavin was we did sort of click on the character. I think always when you read a script it's almost...I don't know, 75% of the character is done, or created in my mind anyway, after having read it for the first time. I sort of see a character being built after reading the script, and hopefully that lines up with the director and writer's interpretation, which it did on this."
How close was the script to the finished film, as far as how you pictured it after that first reading?
Freddie Highmore: "It was pretty similar to the first draft. There weren't too many things that were chopped or changed. I did read the script, I guess, a year or perhaps even two years beforehand and chatted with Gavin before it actually got done. So I think the main storyline was always there. I think we managed to find some great people to play even smaller parts, which I think is fantastic."
Speaking of great people, how was working with Rita Wilson as your mother?
Freddie Highmore: "Brilliant. Obviously, she's got so much experience and brings that to the set, not only on the acting side. But at the same time, working with her is brilliant. She's incredibly professional and that just makes it very easy. Everyone was fully prepared. I mean, Blair Underwood was exactly the same: incredibly professional, great guy, just wonderful to work with."
George is an artist. Were any of his drawings or doodles done by you, or was that all somebody else's work?
Freddie Highmore: "No, they were all done by somebody else I'm afraid. I do doodle sometimes on the phone, but nothing good. It's just like squares and triangles, like everyone else, as opposed to anything good. I always envy people who can pick up a pen and paper and draw something really good."
Does taking an acting job at this point have to work around your college schedule? Does college come first?
Freddie Highmore: "I'm not really too sure how it will all end up working. [Laughing] I haven't really done anything since October, apart from the promotion of this film. But, yeah, I'm not really too sure how it'll work. College is incredibly important and I wouldn't want to mess up that opportunity."
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The Art of Getting By hits theaters on June 17, 2011.
