17-year-old Freddie Highmore, (The Spiderwick Chronicles, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland, The Golden Compass), voices the title character in ASTRO BOY, Toby.

The CGI animated actioner set in futuristic Metro City follows young robot ASTRO BOY as he embarks on a thrilling adventure harnessing human emotions to ultimately save the day, and fulfil his destiny as a superhero.

Directed by David Bowers, ASTRO BOY, based on fêted manga created by Tezuka Osamu, boasts vocal talent: Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Matt Lucas, Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland, Charlize Theron and Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma.

Q: Did you ever imagine you’d play an all-flying superhero with X-Ray vision and the strength of 1,000 men?

A: No I certainly didn’t! It was fantastic and a totally new thing for me playing a superhero in an animated film, which was really exciting. But there are a lot more deeper levels, emotional bits, funny moments of release and then really sad moments with strong messages that audiences won’t expect from an animated action film.

Q: ASTRO BOY has problems fitting in, can you relate to that?

A: I can relate to that feeling of not fitting in I think everybody can. We all know that feeling of being a little bit different for some reason or another and wanting to be like everyone else and fit into a certain group of friends.

Q: If you could have any superpower what would it be?

A: Well I don’t think I’d choose to have the machine guns in my butt that ASTRO BOY has! So I’d probably fly. Yes flying – that would be fantastic.  

Q: Did you record ASTRO BOY alongside Nicolas Cage and the impressive cast?

A:  Unfortunately I never got to work with any of the cast in person, we didn’t record it live together, but it seems to have matched up alright in the end and there was no Trashcan the Dog in the studio either!

Q: Was the American accent easy for you?

A: I’d done an American accent before, so I worked with the same voice coach I’d had a couple of times before just going through lines making sure they sounded right. But the key is when you’re in the studio you forget about the accent and just focus on the performance, because you don’t want to be thinking about accents when emotions are more important.

Q: Were you given visual cues to help your characterisation while recording?

A: For the main action sequences where I fly about, I went back at the end when they’d captured images and knew what was happening even if it was only rough so I could match my voice and inflections to them. They showed me pictures of what the other characters looked like, so I knew what was happening while I recorded.

Q: What was the most challenging aspect of voicing ASTRO BOY?

A: Perhaps the most difficult thing was not recording with everyone else at the same time, but then again, being alone sometimes made it easier because you could really focus on what you were doing. David (Bowers) the director was always helpful in terms of letting me know what everyone else was doing and it was nice to go in right from the start and put your mark on a film and say what direction you think things should go.

Q: Did you feel self-conscious recording alone in the studio?

A: It’s quite tricky at the start not to be self-conscious with just the microphone and the technicians looking at you while you look a bit crazy jumping up and down in the studio – which I did to get out of breath for a scene!

Q: So how did you overcome your self-consciousness?

A: I might have looked a bit funny, but to get the most real performance and the most believable one, you have to forget what people are thinking of you and what you look like and just concentrate on the millions of people who are going to see the film and hear your voice.

Q: If you had your own personal robot, what would you get it to do?

A: Well I’m not too lazy, so there aren’t many tasks I’d get it to do. I think I’d get it to do things I really couldn’t like taking me somewhere in a super quick time, rather than just tidying my clothes up in the morning. And the robot wouldn’t have to drive me around like ASTRO BOY because I passed my driving test recently.

Q: Were you happy with ASTRO BOY’s CGI animated face?

A: Well ASTRO BOY is based on the original Japanese manga comic book, so he doesn’t look too like me. But they updated him a little bit from 50 years ago when he was created while keeping with the character. They also had a camera on my lips and facial expressions when I was recording, for the animators to use.

Q: What about ASTRO BOY’s eye-catching hair?

A: It must have taken a lot of gel to get that look in the morning!

Q: What’s it like having your mother as your agent?

A: She’s the agent of a few other people too, not just me, but it’s nice that it’s always been quite a family decision for me going off to do a film, and obviously it’s fantastic to be able to travel the world and work in great places. But at the same time it affects my family with my brother and mum having to stay in London while I’m away. But it’s nice that it’s always a family decision.

Q: Is it true Johnny Depp specifically requested you take the lead in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory?

A: Well there was a screen test for it I remember going along to with Tim Burton and there were about three of us there. So I don’t know if it was influenced by me working with Johnny before on Finding Neverland. But he’s a fantastic guy and just so normal; he’s just like you or me when you talk to him, and it’s easy to forget that he’s a fantastic film actor and so famous.

Q: Have you always wanted to act?
 
A: It wasn’t a massive desire to act, I went up for auditions like everyone else and got lucky really and my first big film was Finding Neverland after five rounds of auditions, and in the end they picked me. The film did reasonably well and people thought I was alright in that, so it got a lot easier to find other roles and projects. But I’d love to keep going with school and go on to university and maybe study languages. Languages are interesting for me, so I’d like to carry on with that.

Q: How do you cope with fame and being recognised?

A: I think you get used to it; it’s not the part of filming that I enjoy the most. I enjoy doing the acting and the performance more than anything. But it’s nice when people like what you’ve done and let you know it. What’s been great for me so far is managing to keep going with school and acting at the same time. I think there are lots of kids who could have done what I’ve done; it’s not always just down to talent. There’s a huge amount of luck involved; being in the right place at the right time, or one person thinking you’re right for a role because of your eye colour! There are so many factors, especially at the start.

 
Q: How do you keep your feet on the ground?
 
A: Just carrying on with school and being like everyone else when I’m not filming, and my family have always been there for me.

Q: What’s in the acting pipeline?

A: I shot a film in South Africa in 2009 called Master Harold and The Boys based on the play by Athol Fugard. It’s an adult film about Apartheid in South Africa and was completely different to ASTRO BOY. There are a couple of projects we hope to do in 2010, but it depends on them getting the money together really.

Q: Can we look forward to an ASTRO BOY sequel?

A: I hope so, but I really don’t know. I guess if people want there to be another one…there will be!

Q: Do you have any hobbies in your downtime?

A: I guess my biggest hobby is football, we’ve got season tickets to Arsenal so I go there whenever I can, and I play Sundays usually with a few friends on a local 5 a side pitch. So that’s fun.

Q: Are you any good, do you get any goals in?

A: I get a few goals in every now and then - I’m alright!

Astro Boy will be released in cinemas across the UK & Ireland on February 5, 2010