Freddie’s high on music!

doweshowbellyad=0; Freddie Highmore (AP)_ He is barely 16-years-old, but Freddie Highmore already has an impressive repertoire of movies to boast of including Finding Neverland where he played Peter and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where he played Charlie Bucket. This young beginner (he began acting at the age of two) has worked with stars many actors can only dream of.In August Rush, Freddie stars along with Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Robin Williams as the title character August Rush who embarks on a journey to find his parents after they are separated at his birth. Here, Freddie talks about his role and co-stars
Tell us something about August Rush?
It���s the story of a young boy August Rush who gets separated from his parents (Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Keri Russell) after his birth. He runs away from the orphanage ��� where he���s brought up ��� to search for his parents. He starts performing on the streets of New York, while he is cared for by a stranger (Robin Williams).
What was the most appealing factor about the movie for you?
It���s always nice to play different characters in films and so, for August Rush, it was the musical aspect which is something I���d never done before.
August Rush isn���t like a regular hero who finds it difficult to deal with his emotions...
It���s nice to have a hero who���s not sort of big manly guy who wins by killing people, he just wins by... through his emotions and his music.
What do you think is the message of the film?
I think it is: Stay true to yourself and that���s what August does. At the start of the movie, people are trying to knock it out of him, but he doesn���t listen to them, he stays true to what he believes in and I think that���s a great message.
Were you musically inclined before you started to work on this film?
I played the clarinet before. So in that way, I guess I knew the notes. But not particularly in any other way. I hadn���t played the guitar or conducted or played the organ before.
So what are the other things you had to do in this movie?
About six months beforehand, before we actually started filming, I started learning the guitar and the songs I had to play. And I concentrated mostly on them. Any other songs I probably wouldn���t be so good at, but I got those down to pretty good standard and they could use me playing it, they didn���t have to use a double or anything.
How was it getting up in front of the New York Philharmonic and conducting?
That was probably the hardest thing actually about the movie. It���d seem like it would be not too hard, you can just stand up there and it wouldn���t really matter which way you moved your hand, but I wanted it to be realistic and I think you can tell if someone actually knows what they���re doing or if they just make it up as they go along. I went to see Lorin Maazel. We watched him conducting and I spoke to him afterwards and he sort of gave me a few lessons and then he actually gave me his baton which he used in the practice and that ended up being in the film, the one I used.
How was it working with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, because he���s such a talented musician too...
He���s so sparky. It���s brilliant to work with him. It was a shame I didn���t have many scenes with him. We still keep in contact. The other day I went to see an Arsenal soccer match in London with him.
What about Keri Russell. You didn���t get to work with her...
I think that���s one of the regrets of the film really. I never got to spend as much time with her as I���d liked, but we went out to the theatre and just hung out a bit. But I guess in that way our relationship mirrored the film. We never really got to be with each other until that little look in the end.
What about Robin Williams?
This was a difficult role for Robin, because he���s playing so against type and he���s playing this guy who���s kind of Fagin-like. He put all his energy into a character that���s quite internal, he���s got it all clogged up inside of him and he can���t let go of music. But on the set, he was cracking his jokes and he had the crew in stitches. He was great, it was great to work with him, obviously. He���s got so much energy and one of the best things about him is that he���s so funny.
Tell us about your other film The Spiderwick Chronicles...
I play twins in that. It was pretty good getting to play not just one, but two characters. It was fun to get the differentiation between them and make it not so corny. Sort of like not just one that wears glasses or has a massive scar or something. It was more like the internal things that make them different.