Freddie Highmore recalls extreme demands of unnamed talk show host: ‘They were really scared’

Freddie Highmore recalled the extreme lengths he was put through to appease a certain talk show host who apparently doesn’t like seeing guests ahead of time.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday (18 April) evening, The Good Doctor star complimented Kimmel’s backstage set-up, calling it “lovely” compared to other “challenging” late-night sets he’d been on.

Intrigued by Highmore’s substandard experiences, Kimmel goaded him to say more.

Giving in, the British actor said: “I’m trying to avoid saying the name, but this host doesn’t like seeing guests beforehand.

“So I was coming backstage with a couple of the producers and they looked up and they saw the host at the end of the corridor and they were really, really scared.

“They grabbed me and they threw me into the next door that was right by the hallway and it was a broom closet. A dark broom closet,” Highmore remembered.

“I was there for about a minute and they were like these sort of secret service agents on their phones like, ‘Are we clear? Are we good? Have they gone? Can we bring him out?’ Terrified.”

“You were stuck into a closet?” Kimmel responded in disbelief, with Highmore replying: “And then just walked out as if nothing happened. So this is a much more pleasant way of spending my evening.

“Thank you for being a decent human being,” he added.

After the host jokingly suggested that “Kathie Lee Gifford did that to you”, Highmore teased: “Close.”

Asked if he brought up the “weird” experience to the host once he came out on the show, Highmore said: “I’m not sure if they knew.

“I thought it wasn’t a good moment to say, ‘Nice to see you. I was just put in a broom closet.’”

The 31-year-old actor currently leads the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor. He’s best known for his childhood roles in Finding Neverland (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and August Rush (2007).