Bates Motel star Freddie Highmore says that he watches the classic Hitchcock film Psycho before every season. A&E’s Bates Motel is a prequel to the 1960 thriller and explores how Highmore’s character Norman Bates became the killer portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the Oscar nominated feature film. Season four of Bates Motel found Norman killing Norma but then unwilling to actually accept the fact his beloved mother is dead. Season five, the show’s final season, will further explore Norman’s deteriorating mental state.
During our interview at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Highmore discussed what Norman will be dealing with moving into this final season of the critically acclaimed series.
Freddie Highmore Interview:
You get to be the only one who interacts with Vera Farmiga – you’ll have her all to yourself. How does it feel to be carrying that Norma and Norman storyline forward?
Freddie Highmore: “I know. I wonder how it will work. In many ways this whole turn of events will probably mean that I get to have many more scenes with Vera than I’ve had in the past. That’s obviously a brilliant opportunity. I love her and I love working with her so I can’t wait.”
Will we see him further descend into madness? Are you looking forward to playing that?
Freddie Highmore: “I certainly think he’ll be descending into madness, given the fact that Vera’s going to be such a huge part of the show and we know that she’s dead and Norman thinks otherwise. The sort of entire conceit of the last season is based around that subjective reality of Norman’s as opposed to anything objective. Certainly, he’ll be going a little madder as time goes by.”
When you first were cast as Norman were you excited to be able to build the character? In the movie we don’t get to see his backstory at all.
Freddie Highmore: “No, exactly. I think by bringing it into the contemporary setting that the writers did way back when, and this season this deciding to intersect the Bates Motel storyline with that of Psycho but not necessarily retelling it scene-by-scene or exactly how things happened in the past, that’s left us free to be able to come up with our own version of the characters that doesn’t need to necessarily be tied to what came before. I think I’ve tried to come up with a happy medium where certainly there’s inspiration in things that are taken from Anthony Perkins’ performance but it’s never felt like I have to mimic everything that he did.”
Have you been doing more research into mental illness to prepare for this next season?
Freddie Highmore: “I think this next season’s just so wacky and different I’m not sure what it would be to base anything on. This last season, certainly, though was more research-heavy in the scenes with Dr. Edwards and the more scientific approach, if you like, in terms of looking at Norman’s psychology. But now you sort of just have to live in his reality and what he thinks to be true and avoid any moments – or least I hope to do – of wink wink to the audience. Like, ‘Ah, but actually she’s not around.’ I think the whole premise works if you’re entirely committed, and Norman is entirely committed to that reality, to what he believes.”
In the first season one of the themes was exploring whether Norman Bates’ evilness is nurture or nature. What do you think now?
Freddie Highmore: “I think it’s still the mix. I don’t think you can put…what this season I believe has shown is that it’s not Norman’s fault, it’s not Norma’s fault, it’s not Romero’s fault. None of them are really to blame. I don’t think that Norman – he certainly didn’t try to manipulate the outcome that ended up happening. He tried to take them both with him and it was, I believe, very much this act of love of sending them both off to a better place, if you will, in his sort of deluded way. So I guess that in itself speaks to both. It’s that ultimate mixture. I’m not sure you can blame anyone or say that people couldn’t have done things to change the course of events.”
Watch the full Freddie Highmore interview:
