"It was great to do 'August Rush' and have all the challenges of playing that character, especially the American accent for the first time and also playing the guitar and the conducting I had to do. It seemed really easy waving your hands around, it wouldn’t make any difference if you were moving it left or right, but I wanted to do it realistically ‘cause I think you can tell if someone doesn’t know what they’re doing."
By Max Evry in New York City
August Rush is an 11-year-old music prodigy, only he doesn’t know it yet. After being separated from his parents at birth, he spends his childhood in an orphanage where he alienates himself from his fellow orphans by his strange belief that his parents are still alive and that he can somehow feel and communicate with them. After escaping the orphanage and finding his way to New York City, August takes up with the Fagen-esque Wizard (Robin Williams), who runs his own underground colony of child street musicians. When Wizard discovers August’s preternatural gift for music, it begins a journey that will take the young boy from performing in Washington Square park for change to conducting a symphony orchestra in central park, all with the wistful hope that he will find his real parents.
Freddie Highmore stars as the title character in “August Rush”, a whimsical fable about the power of music to bring people together. The young star, who made a name for himself in “Finding Neverland” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, came to New York to discuss the role with the press.
Q: Can you talk about getting into your character of this incredible music prodigy?
FREDDIE: I dunno. Acting is certainly great! It was great to do August Rush and have all the challenges of playing that character, especially the American accent for the first time and also playing the guitar and the conducting I had to do. It seemed really easy waving your hands around, it wouldn’t make any difference if you were moving it left or right, but I wanted to do it realistically ‘cause I think you can tell if someone doesn’t know what they’re doing.
Q: Did you have to learn how to play guitar?
FREDDIE: About six months beforehand I had been practicing guitar. I concentrated mostly on the songs I had to play. I got those down pretty well so they could use me actually playing.
Q: Were there any difficulties filming?
FREDDIE: Battling against the weather was tough sometimes, but we got pretty lucky on “August Rush”. The day before we tried to do the scene where it snows the snow came and it was the biggest snowstorm in New York for a few years or something. Normally the weather’s probably the hardest thing you have to deal with. As a team everyone’s working together to get the right results on the musical front.
Q: You have an unusual “slap” style of playing. Where did that come from?
FREDDIE: That was fun! There was this guy called Michael Hedges that we looked at a bit. He played in that style. The slap. If August was a musical genius he wouldn’t be able to know “this is E” or “this is G” immediately, but he would be able to get some sound out of it in his own unique way. It was great to find that slapping style.
Q: What was it like playing an American for the first time?
FREDDIE: It’s definitely different. I always wanted to try doing a different character for every film so it’s not just changing one and making it like that. There was obviously the whole aspect that he’s a guy who stands up for what he believes in. Today the sort of thing for a guy in England growing up is that you have to suppress all your emotions and you can’t show it and you’re not meant to say, “Oh yes, I really love music,” and go for it. It’s almost like you have to sit back and be cool. August is like that when he’s in the orphanage. People are saying, “you know you’ve just got to be normal and not go on about all the crazy stuff you’re talking about.” They try and knock it out of him, but he goes for it. I think that’s interesting to have the hero of the story being someone who isn’t a traditional person who goes around killing people to get his way. He’s softer.
Q: What was it like taking on an American accent?
FREDDIE: We had a voice coach a bit while before the actual shooting. I try to talk in it most of the time when I’m there on the film. I don’t go home and pretend I’m August rather than just the actual lines I’m saying in the film. If you do it that way it makes it more natural and second nature so you’re not actually thinking about doing the accent right, you’re thinking just about the emotions the character feels. After awhile you get used to it and there’s so much, especially being in New York to film you’re always surrounded by American people. Also “Catcher in the Rye”, which happens to be one of my favorite books, I just found that kind of useful. It helps you get into the American accent.
Q: Do you see any similarities between this character and Charlie from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”?
FREDDIE: A bit, I mean they’re both good guys. They’re not particularly nasty. I haven’t played any really nasty people yet, it might be fun to do. Play someone who’s just really horrible that everyone hates! (laughs)
Q: In the film some characters want to exploit August’s talents for their own gain, while others try to nurture him in a positive way. Can you relate to being put on a pedestal like that?
FREDDIE: Um, I guess… I mean I haven’t been exploited or anything. (laughs) No, I guess I couldn’t relate too much to that but I guess the feeling of being up there and performing was there a little, although for August it’s more he discovers that as the film goes along and starts not being a natural performer which was interesting to discover.
Q: What was it like working with Robin Williams?
FREDDIE: Well he’s fantastic! I thought it was brilliant, great casting as well because he’s a guy with so much energy and so much going on and his brain is going so quick, he’s got so many ideas. It’s more like a conversation when you’re talking to him and less like scripted dialogue that you’ve got to be saying. It also took him awhile to get to set just walking through New York and everyone stopping him and going through his routines. He’d have to sort of leave an hour before he was meant to be on set! (laughs)
“August Rush” opens everywhere November 21st.