He’s just turned 18 but already Freddie Highmore has starred alongside some of the biggest movie stars. Having found fame aged 12 in Finding Neverland opposite Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. He teamed up with Depp again as Charlie in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. More recently he was involved in The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Golden Compass and Kirsten Sheridan’s August Rush. Coming up he'll be starring in The Beautiful Miscellaneous, Death of a Superhero and Master Harold... and the Boys
This weekend he voices Astro Boy, a big budget cartoon based on the Japanese Manga character first published in 1952.
Astro Boy is huge in Asia but less known here in Ireland, what drew you voice the character?
FH: I think it was the opportunity to do something different. Not only to do an animated film, just the voice, but a film that seemed to have so many different messages. It seems that it is just an action film but there are a lot more emotional and deeper levels to it as well. That as exciting.
What do you hope audiences will take from the film?
FH: I think there is a lot you can relate to. It’s definitely a fun film it’s not gloomy or anything but there are sadder moments and moments where you really feel for Astro Boy and get drawn in emotionally. It’s not a pure action film, but obviously it is to some extent. In terms of relating to the character, everyone can relate to that feeling of feeling a little bit different, as Astro Boy is because of his robot body, but everyone knows there is something a little bit different about them that makes them stand out in some way when really they just want to be like everyone else and fit in.
Astro Boy is a beloved character in Asia; did you feel nervous making a film about such an iconic character?
FH: A little bit, but at the same time it was encouraging, and you knew he was a great character because he had been around for so long in Japan. He is their Mickey Mouse, if you like [laughs]. It was a good challenge but really exciting to get the character shown to more people.
Astro Boy, as you said has been going for 50 years; did you read the manga or watch he cartoons before you did the film?
FH: Yeah we looked a little bit at the manga. We tried to keep with the real, traditional sense, in terms of his [Astro Boy’s] character and the way that he thinks, but there was a need to bring him a little more up to date because at the time he was created 50 years ago, he was cutting edge and so it’s important that he still is now.
How challenging is voice acting for you, as opposed to acting on screen?
FH: I think the most challenging thing at the start is getting over the inhibitions of being self conscious. It’s quite easy to go into the studio and feel a bit nervous of things like jumping up and down to get out of breath or running or on the spot for the really big flying scene. You might look at the technicians and feel a little bit embarrassed that you look a bit mad [laughs]. But the main thing is that the voice sounds good and that the millions of people that see it will think you’re good.
Did you record the voice alone or were you in a room with other actors?
FH: I was all alone. I think most people were. Which was a shame, but the fact that you can get so many great actors to do different parts means that they are not always going to be available at the same time. It was good though because I got to record pretty much first out of everyone so I could take it my own way, which was nice.
How long did the voice recording take?
FH: We did quite a few sessions. We got the bulk of it done in a couple of months, going back every weekend and doing some recording sessions, and then you would go back and tidy up a few things that didn’t quite work or when they got a bit more of the animation done you could add some more breaths and shouts to the animation that’s there in the flying sequences and that sort of thing.
You recorded the voice of the character before the film was animated. Do you see any of your own mannerisms in the finished Astro Boy?
FH:I am not sure! I think there’s always going to be little bit of me in him, yeah. I didn’t have to match my words to anything; they had a camera on me recording my lips. Apparently at the same time they recorded some of my facial expressions and used that sometimes to form a basis for Astro Boy’s expressions in the film.
How challenging was it to do such a vocally oriented part in an accent other than your own?
FH: It wasn’t too tricky actually. I have done the American accent a few times before so it didn’t really jar. I think the most important thing when you are doing it is just to forget about the accent and concentrate on the emotion of it. If you have to do it again because something didn’t quite sound right then you do it again, but once you’re recording you forget about that and get inside the character.
You have had quite an incredible career, what was your favourite experience so far?
FH: The fantastic people or the places have I have managed to go to. It’s hard to choose one person or one moment above all the rest, but I have certainly been lucky.
What’s next?
FH: I recorded something in South Africa earlier this year called Master Harold… And The Boys which is totally different to Astro Boy, it’s about apartheid in South Africa, so that should be good. Then there are a couple things I hope to do sometime next year but it’s just about getting the final bits of money together and then hopefully it will all work out next year.
Words – Brogen Hayes
Astro Boy is in Irish cinemas from Feb 5th