I rarely get excited about programs based solely on their casting decisions, but every once in a while I get surprised. With movies it's a bit easier because there are usually more movies based on other things that have existing characters. For example, I was thrilled to hear Heath Ledger was selected as the Joker way back in the day because in the comic books, he was more of a demented serial killer as opposed to Jack Nicholson's campy lunatic, and I felt (based on Ledger's previous work) Heath was the right talent to pull off the "real" Joker. Television programs are usually (hopefully) original ideas that allow casting directors to hire based upon what they imagine the character looks like. So when I heard not-so-little-anymore Freddie Highmore was chosen to reprise or "preprise", if you will, the iconic role of Norman Bates from the Hitchcock classic, Psycho, I was absolutely elated.
Uncanny? I think so.
Not only is he strikingly similar to Anthony Perkins, Highmore has the chops to be able to pull this off. Based on his other films he is very much the silent, mysterious type. If you need a frame of reference, how about you take a peek at Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
Now that's only a taste, he has also worked on Finding Neverland, Spiderwick Chronicles and August Rush...so his drama chops are there.
The TV-MOVIE will be on the A&E network, and will co-star the beautiful Vera Farmiga, of The Departed and Up In The Air, as Norma Bates. The show, titled "Bates Motel," is co-produced by none other than Carlton Cuse (LOST!!!!), and will be released sometime in 2013.
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