Freddie Highmore says 'it's a dream' as he embarks on first TV role since The Good Doctor

Freddie Highmore said, "It's a dream", as he embarks on his first TV role since The Good Doctor.

The 33-year-old actor began his career as a child in the films Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur and the Invisibles and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

As an adult, Freddie gained recognition as Norman Bates in horror series Bates Motel. He is also known for his role as Dr Shaun Murphy in ABC drama series The Good Doctor, which ended in 2024.

Now, Freddie is starring in Prime Video's latest thriller series, The Assassin, which landed in full on the streamer today (Friday, July 25).

The six-part drama, which comes from The Tourist writers Harry and Jack Williams, follows a retired assassin called Julie (Keeley Hawes), who has begun her retirement on an idyllic Greek island.

However, when her estranged son, Edward, played by Freddie, turns up with questions about his father, Julie's dangerous past soon starts to catch up with her.

The pair are then forced to go on the run across Europe, working together in a fight for survival, with their dysfunctional relationship being tested to its limits.

Alongside Keeley and Freddie, the series also stars Shalom Brune-Franklin, Devon Terrell, Gina Gershon, Jack Davenport, Alan Dale, Richard Dormer and David Dencik.

Speaking to Reach and other press ahead of the show's premiere, Freddie opened up about his character Edward's challenging past, which has informed a number of his decisions.

"He's just a good person who has made a series of bad mistakes," he explained.

"Looking back, he would have done things differently, but he can't change that and so is getting himself into a messier and messier and more complicated situation, and he thinks about that a lot."

The actor went on to explain that he was instantly attracted to the "inherent Britishness" of the series, especially after spending years in the US for work.

"Compared to other things, I feel certainly, even if they don't have the most healthy relationship, Edward and Julie, it's probably better than Norman and his mother on Bates Motel. Although who knows what happens over the course of the show?" he said.

"To me, it feels like a wonderful, blissful relationship that the two of them have. To me, the appeal, as well, in contrast to the things that I've done more recently in television, is something to celebrate the Britishness of it.

"The Britishness of the humour and the understated humour. Often shows today are thought of in an international way and have to work internationally, and although this does, it's lovely that it's lent into an inherent Britishness of Edward and Julie."

He continued: "That dynamic feels very familiar and specific, rather than just general. That's one of the things that appealed to me was just doing something in the UK, having been away for a long time.

"So, doing this with Harry and Jack and obviously Keeley, it's such a dream. [I'm] back home."

Keeley also noted: "It would have been a very different show if it had been an American version."

The Assassin is available to stream on Prime Video