He’s channeling Charlie

MOST adults aren’t foolish enough to believe that chocolate waterfalls exist (though, yes, chocolate fountains abound).

Oompa Loompas surely aren’t real, and nobody, not even in L.A., is as bizarre as Willy Wonka.

The real world couldn’t come close, it seems, to approximating the spectacle of director Tim Burton’s big-screen version of Roald Dahl’s 1964 classic “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” an imaginary candyland world where anything is possible.

But try telling that to Charlie. He’s seen the chocolate factory, and he’s here to tell you all about it.

Charlie -- that is, actor Freddie Highmore-- has, at 13, already built quite the resume, including a breakout performance in “Finding Neverland” and his most recent role as Charlie Bucket, a boy who goes through a far-from-normal experience when he finds a golden ticket that admits him into Wonka’s world-famous chocolate factory.

Before production, Highmore thought he would be working mostly against blue and green screens, having to imagine a fictional sugar-coated world.

But instead, Highmore (who was 12 during production) got to enter a magical, edible world that was meticulously handcrafted by set designers -- and is sure to be the envy of any kid who sees the film.

Although Highmore said that the river of chocolate that runs through the factory was made of toothpaste, among other things, some parts of the set were actually edible -- meaning the actors had no trouble getting their sugar fix. Highmore tasted plants made of marshmallow and had his fair share of Wonka bars during production, but with his metabolism, you can’t tell.

His size makes you wonder if you were that small at 13.

Although Highmore’s acting talent has been praised, (Johnny Depp, who plays Wonka and starred with Highmore in “Finding Neverland,” had requested him for the role of Charlie), Highmore says he didn’t always have to act while playing the part in such a wonderland.

Burton wanted to create a world straight out of Dahl’s book, so some of the sets, including the room whre the chocolate is made, were built around one another at 360 degrees, placing the actors in a world reminiscent of the one created inside Dahl’s head 40 years ago.

“All Tim Burton had to do was shoot our real thoughts,” said Highmore in his boyish British accent.

A lucky lad

SITTING in a private cabana by the pool at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, Highmore chomped on a ham-and-cucumber sandwich just hours before the movie’s premier and compared himself to his character.

“I’ve just been very lucky to have been able to have the chance,” he said. “I’m similar to Charlie, I guess, in that way. He’s been very lucky to have been able to go to the factory.”

For a boy cranking out high-profile films and traveling the world, Highmore is, in a complementary way, normal, just like Charlie.

“I’m just a normal kid,” he said more than once, though most “normal” kids don’t usually say things like, “I might go to New York on Monday to do the ‘Today’ show.’ ” “My friends have just been really normal about me acting,” he explained. “So I’d rather they treat me like I’m not special in any way. Which I’m not really.”

He says he picked up a thing or two from Depp, his two-time costar. “He’s fantastic,” Highmore said. “I also say chocolate’s fantastic, but I think Johnny’s better than chocolate, so I need another word for Johnny. Something better than fantastic.”

Aside from chocolate and acting, Highmore enjoys playing the clarinet and guitar, and he loves soccer, saying that he is “quite a sporty person.” He knows French quite well and will learn Spanish beginning in September, when he enters grade eight in England.

As for his future plans, “I’m not sure in the long term what I want to be,” Highmore said. “I’m still quite young. I don’t think I have to decide quite yet,” though he says he’d love to see the world, especially the rain forests. He takes acting seriously but doesn’t see it as work. “It’s not like I have to get myself up in the morning to go,” he said. “I’m always eager to go and see everyone.”

Highmore admits it’s a bit strange seeing himself on billboards, and he does get recognized now and then. But his fame hasn’t yet drawn the female following of his co-star.

“I think there were a few [girls] outside the studios where we were filming,” Highmore said with a smile. “They weren’t for me.”

Highmore said that along with the sweets and comaraderie with Depp, he soaked up the values that Dahl tried to portray in his book with Charlie’s character.

“He’s a boy, he seems to have nothing,” Highmore said. “He lives in a house that’s all falling down and doesn’t actually have any material worth, but he’s got his family. I think that’s the most important thing in life, and that’s one of the morals of the story.”

The other moral: Chocolate is quite fantastic.