"The Psycho is very much coming, it's on its way!"
Bates Motel has tantalisingly teased the slow-burn meltdown of young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) across its first two seasons - tonight, the show returns for its third run... and the events of Psycho feel closer than ever.
Highmore spoke to Digital Spy about drawing inspiration from Hitchcock's classic and where Norman is heading in the new episodes.
You've said you rewatch Psycho before every new season of Bates Motel - how does that help you?
"I think it's a matter of getting back into it at the start of every season - I also rewatch certain episodes of Bates Motel so it can very much be a continuation of where you left off and at the same time trying to always move towards that goal of Norman becoming more and more like Anthony Perkins' version."
Does it affect your performance, having that end point in mind for the character's journey?
"I think I've been incredibly lucky in being able to plot Norman's descent into insanity from the very beginning, so Anthony Perkins was always a source of inspiration as to where Norman can go.
"Of course, it takes various twists and turns over time and it's never exactly what you expected or could have perhaps pre-planned - because so much depends on the fantastic writing that Carlton [Cuse] and Kerry [Ehrin] produce - but there are certain traits of Anthony Perkins that you can start to build in over time for people who are fans of Psycho as well."
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Carlton and Kerry have said Bates Motel is expected to run for five seasons - have they mapped out the future of the show for you?
"No, I don't think they've entirely planned out the fourth and fifth seasons. Maybe the key points - and some of those you know or can guess, knowing how the end happens.
"I think by the end of the third season... the third season's really key in moving towards the end, and by the end of the third season we see for the first time the Norman that perhaps we have expected from the very beginning.
"It's a Norman who's slightly more manipulative, slightly more scheming and one who seeks to assert control as opposed to being this passive little boy that we met at the very beginning."
I did notice that the season three finale is called 'The Psycho' so it's obviously heading somewhere along those lines…
"I'm not sure it had a title when we shot it, but 'The Psycho' is very much coming, it's on its way - and we get to see Norman dress up as Norma for the first time this season. Their physical closeness is pushed even more - we had this kiss at the end of the second season and the third season starts with a shot of the two of them spooning in bed, so I guess that's a sign that there is more to come of that!
"It's really pushing the boundaries but at the same time remaining in the 'real' so it never becomes too over-the-top or too fake. Vera is brilliant at doing that with Norma, always making her real but at the same time being extremely crazy!"
Norman's relationship with Emma is also set to shift this season - where's that heading?
"I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to start up a relationship with Norman, so we'll see how their first few dates go and what ends up happening!
"It's fun, because the show constantly shifts between Norman being someone who we've supported - and that we've liked and empathised with and sympathised with throughout the first two seasons - and now it's challenging whether we were right to have supported him all along.
"In the third season, we see him taking key decisions and thinking, 'Is he doing this because he's a nice person, or is he doing this because in some way he knows [the truth about himself] and he wants to become this other person?'"
So it's all for appearance's sake?
"Yes, there's definitely a performative side to Norman this season where he's perhaps slightly aware of his condition and seeks to exploit it, getting certain reactions full-well knowing what he's doing."
Bradley also returns to White Pine Bay - how does that take a toll on Norman?
"I guess you'll have to wait and see! But as I was saying with Emma, it's never a good idea to awaken the sexual side of Norman, because that side of him is linked very closely to his dangerous side and awakens this dangerous 'Psycho' side of him too."
You mentioned the audience sympathising with Norman - do you sympathise with him?
"I do. Less and less, maybe, but I do. He certainly has these redeemable features from the first two seasons and in a sense he'll always be redeemable because of the person that he was.
"Whoever he becomes, it's more of a question of, 'How could that possibly have happened?' and why was there not the help there that this person so obviously needed? What could everyone around him have done differently to avoid Norman becoming 'The Psycho' at the end?
"So there will always be this sympathy that everyone feels for him and it's more this heartbreaking sense of seeing someone go down a path that they really shouldn't be going down."
Norman's still haunted by the death of Miss Watson, which took place back in the first season - is it important that Bates Motel deals with violence long-term and doesn't become 'murder of the week'?
"I think that's key. It's definitely not a procedural - 'Norman's killed someone every week, let's see how he did it' - throughout the first two seasons, there's a slower build-up of not wanting to do too much, too soon and the third season is a payoff for that, perhaps.
"Of course, the temptation on day one is to have Norman in a wig, running around, killing people in the motel - but what makes it so satisfying in the third season is that it feels earned and that we know how much is there behind it."
Bates Motel season 3 starts tonight (Wednesday, April 1) at 9pm on Universal Channel.
