‘The Good Doctor’ Star Freddie Highmore Opens up About His Life Outside of Acting

Freddie Highmore is opening up about his life outside of acting and says he’s “lucky” to have grown up outside of Hollywood.

Highmore is known for some incredible roles on Bates Motel and The Good Doctor, and is without a doubt phenomenal at what he does. However, he only realized a short time ago that he wanted to act when he started his role on Bates Motel at the age of 19.

“I’ve been lucky to have had the distance from a Hollywood upbringing,” he said at Series Mania according to Variety. “Being able to go back [to London] and wanting to be a footballer and play for Arsenal back in the U.K.”

The gifted actor has been open to the public about his lack of interest in using social media and milking fame to its core. Instead, he’d rather live in the moment as if he weren’t a well-known, public-figure.

Something else he strongly believes in is a good education and would recommend to anyone — especially those looking for a rise in Hollywood — that they continue their studies and avoid letting it slip to the wayside.

“I’ve been very lucky to have kept a normal life, a reality. I would definitely recommend not deciding this is the only thing you want to do, keep going to school,” he said.

“Also a university degree is a wonderful opportunity to get more life experience,” he added. “I sometimes wonder, and of course people do it brilliantly, but what, if you act as a kid and go straight into acting as an adult, what are those experiences which you have to draw on.”

Highmore got his start when he played the role of Peter in Finding Neverland starring Johnny Depp, but admits in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, that he still went to a regular school back in the U.K. during this time in his career.

The actor enrolled in Cambridge University in 2010 with a major in Arabic and Spanish.

The Good Doctor actor portrays a titular doctor on the popular ABC show, Dr. Shaun Murphy, who is an autistic surgical resident. Although he’s know for being in front of the camera, he’s also had a little experience behind the scenes during the second season thanks to show creator David Shore.

“[He] has taken me under his wing and let me write an episode this second season, and direct one, too,” the 27-year-old said. He continued by saying that being the in writers room reminded him of college in a way, “holed away at night, working. I get that joy now from writing a little bit.”