The Assassin's Freddie Highmore teases thrilling Prime Video role he says 'I'm back home'

The Assassin star Freddie Highmore teased his thrilling Prime Video role as he said, "I'm back home".

The 33-year-old star, who began his acting journey as a child with roles in Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur and the Invisibles, and The Spiderwick Chronicles, has made quite the impression over the years.

As an adult, Freddie became widely recognised for his portrayal of Norman Bates in the horror series Bates Motel. His most recent acclaim came from playing Dr Shaun Murphy in the ABC drama series The Good Doctor, which concluded its run in 2024.

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Now, Freddie is captivating audiences in Prime Video's new edge-of-your-seat thriller series, The Assassin, which dropped in its entirety on the platform today (Friday, July 25).

The six-part series, which comes from The Tourist writers Harry and Jack Williams, centres around a retired assassin named Julie (Keeley Hawes), who has spent her retirement years on a picturesque Greek island, reports the Express.

However, the tranquillity soon turns to turmoil when her estranged son Edward, portrayed by Freddie, arrives seeking answers about his father, dragging Julie's perilous history back into the spotlight.

The mother and son are then thrust into a harrowing journey across Europe, with their already strained relationship being pushed to breaking point as they struggle to stay alive.

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

In a conversation with Reach and other media outlets before the show's launch, Freddie delved into the complex backstory of his character Edward, shedding light on how it shapes his actions within the story.

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

"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 further explained his immediate attraction to the "inherent Britishness" of the series, particularly after spending years working in the US.

"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."

Freddie 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 remarked: "It would have been a very different show if it had been an American version."

The Assassin is available to stream on Prime Video