Freddie Highmore

'Cinema Paradiso' is a fantastic film, I love that.

I guess I'm just a normal kid apart from the acting.

I'm sure everyone has many types of music that they enjoy.

I have a younger brother.

Johnny Depp is probably the best actor.

Scary is good. Kids like going to a movie and being really scared rather than fake scared.

I've got a good family to support me, so I'm grounded in that way.

I like to go to bed early so I can get up early.

I always tend to see, right after reading the script, the character and how I want to play it. I guess that's sort of most of the work, preparing for the role, but almost the creation of the character seems to go on as I read through the script.

I think a lot of the time having someone who you, not base yourself on, but can see yourself being after a few years, you can get quite blinded by that, in the same way love can be.

When you're happy you don't always have to be laughing, and when you're sad you don't have to be crying; sometimes it's the opposite. You laugh when you're the most upset.

I'm pretty rubbish, as we say in Britain, artwise, and I always envy people who can pick up something and even do just a little doodle of someone that looks vaguely like them. It's impressive.

There's never been a particular band that I've followed religiously. But I do tend to listen to sadder music.

I never really acted at school. It was doing small parts on TV that really got me started.

People build up a picture of Johnny Depp as being some sort of weird pirate character. In reality he's incredibly nice... one of the nicest people I've ever met.

I've never been a great cook.

It's very nice having my mum as my agent. You know that she's always doing what's best for you.

People have different expectations when you're younger - it's less about changing yourself into a character; they want a more natural thing. And they just want you to be able to turn up every day and carry on working. They have a horrible fear of 10- or 11-year-olds, that they're going to say 'I don't want to play today.'

Don't get too set on becoming an actor at an early age. I think that's where some people get into trouble. Acting becomes their life. I don't want that.

For every different role you play it's nice to have different challenges for each one.

I think in some ways I'm quite lucky to be living in London, there's this certain separation from the movie business. In that way, it's been quite easy to separate acting and going back to a normal life.

I wish I could draw.

I like hot weather. I think it might be a bit better if England was a bit hotter.

I like all sorts of chocolate. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, anything.

Every day is a different day in New York; there's always something new going on.