Freddie Highmore's Real Name: Alfred Thomas Highmore

Quick answer: Freddie Highmore's full name is Alfred Thomas Highmore. Freddie is a nickname for Alfred. He was born on February 14, 1992, in London, and became a child star in Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He later played Norman Bates on Bates Motel and Dr. Shaun Murphy on ABC's The Good Doctor (POPSUGAR; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

POPSUGAR reported that "Freddie is actually a nickname. His full name is Alfred Thomas Highmore." TV Guide also lists his birth name as Alfred Thomas Highmore. The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Highmore, Freddie, 1992-." One citation reads "Freddie Highmore, actor, writer; b. February 14, 1992 in Camden Town, London, England, UK." Another LOC citation gives June 9, 1992, but the other two LOC entries and most published references use February 14.

He comes from a show-business family. According to POPSUGAR, his father, Edward Highmore, is an actor, and his mother, Sue Latimer, is a talent agent whose clients have included Daniel Radcliffe and Imelda Staunton. He attended an independent school in London and then studied Arabic and Spanish at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, graduating from Cambridge while keeping his acting career going.

Career highlights

Highmore began acting at about 7. In the 1999 comedy Women Talking Dirty, he played the son of Helena Bonham Carter's character. His breakthrough came opposite Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland (2004). The two reunited the next year in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with Highmore as Charlie Bucket. Other childhood films included August Rush (2007), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), and Astro Boy (2009), in which he voiced the title character.

As an adult, he moved into television. From 2013 to 2017 he played a young Norman Bates in A&E's Bates Motel, a prequel to Psycho, opposite Vera Farmiga as his mother. POPSUGAR notes that he is godfather to Farmiga's son. The Library of Congress record lists him as both an actor and a writer.

In 2017 he began starring as Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism, on ABC's The Good Doctor. He also served as a producer, and the role brought him a Golden Globe nomination. The show ended in 2024. He has been known for avoiding social media; POPSUGAR reported that he kept verified accounts but did not post. He said this was to "maintain a clear difference between" his private and professional lives.

Name notes for searchers

Alfred is his legal first name, and Freddie, the familiar form, is the name he has always used on screen. Thomas is his middle name. Highmore is his family surname, shared with his father, the actor Edward Highmore. Credits and library records use Freddie Highmore.