Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Freddie Highmore in August Rush Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Can you remember a day on set that really stood out as being amazing and particularly memorable?
There was a great day with a scene in the park with Jonathan Rhys Meyers where we both played guitars together. It was kind of fun. We both were practicing away, pretending we weren't but actually we were. And then when you get on the set and you can play it together and it actually works! He plays his bit and then I play mine, and we come together for the main bit of the song. When it works out, it's kind of a nice feeling.

It is interesting you chose such an intimate scene. One would think you might describe perhaps the grand Central Park scene at the end.
No, I mean they're all great. It was fun doing the night shoots as well on the stage with all the people there. Every scene was great, though. I don't know; it was nice playing the guitar.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers commented on you, saying it's unusual to see somebody of your age with such maturity. You've been in this industry for quite a while, but don't seem to be too affected by it. What is the key to that, as a lot of child actors have not managed to keep that balance?
Yeah. I don't know. I mean I guess I've got a supportive family. So in that way I've got a nice base there, and people are always there supporting me, and so that helps to keep me from going off the rails. Also the people I've worked with haven't been anything like that. They've just been really great to me, and I think that helps. Also just when I'm not filming I still go to a normal school, and I'm not home schooled at all. So I guess in that way I'm still normal and keeping staying young.

What do you think is the key to remaining successful in this industry? There have been many major actors who spent their childhoods working in film, such as Jodie Foster, Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale. Do you look at their lives and think, I'm at this point in a similar trajectory?
People say when you get to a certain age, you're going to make the transition from a younger person to an older person in the world. August Rush was a bit older than the other characters I've played before. And so that was nice. I think you've got to be lucky. I think that's the main thing to staying successful. [And] I think I've been so lucky so far. There are so many people who are as talented as I am, I'm sure, who haven't got the opportunities that I've had and had the luck in getting to work with people and getting films. Because so much of it isn't down to you. It's down to the script, or the weather on the day, for example, could change it. If it just rains the whole time, you can't get such great films [as] if the weather were perfect. So I think you've got to be lucky.

How do you choose a script? When do you get time with school as well?
I come home, do my homework, and then maybe read a script or something. It's not like every day there are ten scripts to read or something. There are not so many films that are perfect [for me]. But you just read the script and then you go and meet with the people and have a chat and see if they'd like to have you. Again, you've got to be lucky, and you've got to have people who have to want you first.