Freddie Highmore’s commitment to his autistic character leads to breakout hit.
He doesn’t play a guy named Jack. And there is no epic mystery surrounding his character’s death like a certain freshman TV hit of last season because, well, his alter ego is very much alive. Even without all the trappings of “This Is Us,” Freddie Highmore has TV viewers hooked on the big new hit of
Highmore is the face of “The Good Doctor,” playing Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, in the ABC feel-good medical drama.
“Shaun is a very interesting, compelling central character who happens to be autistic,” says showrunner and executive producer David Shore (“House”). “It’s
Finding someone who could inhabit the role and come across as genuine was key if viewers, as well as the autistic community, were going to embrace it. Shore had known of Highmore, but it wasn’t until ABC and Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show, suggested the actor that things fell into place.
“To see Freddie in action is truly a sight,” Shore says by phone. “The first couple of days we were shooting the pilot, he was in almost every scene but had virtually no dialogue. It wasn’t until Day 3 that he finally speaks. It was amazing to see. So much happens in those eyes and in that face. He communicates so much and not in the traditional ways.”
Viewers of the series, based on a 2013 Korean drama of the same name, are in agreement. From its start, the drama drew attention. Its premiere scrubbed in 11.22 million viewers and a 2.2 rating in the adults ages 18-to-49 demographic. And its impressive streak has held steady, ranking as the most-watched drama of the season. We spoke to the 25-year-old English actor about headlining the season’s breakout hit and finding his way into the character.
And it’s wrapping your head around the responsibility that came with this character and the commitment that it requires, and making sure that you only take it on if you’re prepared to put in all of the work behind something. I think that goes for all characters, but perhaps for Shaun in particular. He needed to be portrayed in a very careful, thoughtful way. And three days was a very brief turnaround to take stock of my ability.
So we’ve been building on his own idiosyncrasies and his quirks as a person that aren’t really defined by autism, which we’ve tried to develop over time as the season’s gone on so far — his sense of humor ... and also his quest for a sense of independence and of not being entirely sure what that means for him, but knowing that he wants to have a greater control over his life.
I think the misconception often of people who have autism is that they’re somehow devoid of emotion or don’t have as broad a range of emotions as neurotypical people do. That’s not true, but I think what is true in the case of Shaun is that they come across to others in an unusual way, that we may not have been exposed to previously in our personal lives. So it’s both allowing the audience in on that journey, with Shaun, and being on his side, and knowing what he’s feeling deep down and being able to form some sort of connection to him.
Shaun, in some ways, has grown over the course of the show. But the fact is that he will always have autism. Which is entirely different to Norman, where there was always this hope that he would somehow overcome his serial killer tendencies or could fundamentally change who he was, or the things that made him different and stand out.