'The Good Doctor' Freddie Highmore to WION on popularity of the show & more

English actor Freddie Highmore has come a long way since he shot to fame with ‘Finding Neverland’. Among other projects, he now plays the famous Dr Shaun Murphy on long-running ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’ that has recently been renewed for season 5, set to premiere on September 27, 2021.

Loved for his charisma on the American medical drama television series, Freddie plays a young autistic surgical resident at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. As The Good Doctor season 4 currently streams on SonyLIV, Freddie Highmore spoke to WION about the inherent likeability of medical shows around the world and challenges in shooting such an intense TV show during the pandemic.

WION: Since the new season has a subplot of the pandemic, how was it like to film those scenes and what impact did that have on Dr Shaun?

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Freddie: Yes. It certainly was a struggle for Shaun because the pandemic was something completely unknown, especially initially. Shaun is so well prepared and has so much knowledge and has learned so much from his textbooks, but then he’s faced with something that no one
knew anything about and had to think about and learn on their feet. And so, it was certainly tricky for Shaun at the beginning.

WION: Playing a doctor on the show, was there ever a moment that you felt overwhelmed given the pandemic is not over yet?

Freddie: The most important thing for all of us when playing doctors amid the pandemic in reel, was to pay tribute to the real life healthcare professionals, and first line workers who have been heroic -- in the face of such trauma over these last few months. I think for all of us it’s really just put into perspective how, as actors, we’re just playing doctors on television. And that means nothing compared to what people are really doing out there every single day. It would’ve felt wrong, and we would’ve been shirking a sense of responsibility to them, to not wanting to portray that on television. So that’s sort of where I guess it all began in terms of wanting to tell that story.

The first two episodes do track the pandemic over a period of months in some ways. It shows how these doctors, over the course of several months, as things change, as more information comes in, learn more and more about this virus and how the world is responding to it.

Watch The Good Doctor - Season 4 Official Trailer:

WION: Why do you think medical shows are such a hit around the world?

Freddie: I’d like to think that there are two different reasons for it. One of them is that it deals with the most elemental and important things that all humans will go through inevitably -- which is living, giving birth to people, starting up in life, and then also, at some stage, inevitably passing away. I think in terms of the thematic events that go on within a hospital there are things that everyone necessarily are able to connect to.

But I’d also like to think that even though the thematic kind of interest is what draws people in, it’s also the characters on these medical shows. In The Good Doctor one of these characters is of Shaun who’s had a different viewpoint on the world. Maybe now we’ve moved towards a space where we’re looking for someone who offers a little bit more hope and who sees the good in people, who doesn’t pre-judge anyone, and is asking genuine questions, genuinely trying to figure out other people’s opinions rather than arriving with preconceived notions of what they should be.

WION: Since you mentioned you’re in Vancouver, what’s the current situation regarding COVID and how was filming the show there?

Freddie: Yes, we’re here in Vancouver. Fortunately, it’s not as badly affected as other cities but everyone is taking the necessary precautions, both off and on set. On the set, we’re tested three times a week and are wearing masks as much as possible. We take them off for the scenes. It does feel different shooting amid the pandemic with the camera operators removed from the set and working remotely on a crane but it should be different given the circumstances. All in all, we’re lucky to be able to get back to work, and tell these stories.

WION: Since you play an autistic character, how do you think the show connects with the community?

Freddie: I hope that through the character of Shaun we’ll continue to do justice to his story, and therefore, more widely, help start a discussion about autism, and how, more specifically, people with autism can work within a hospital environment and can be successful within it. The other thing that we’re always aware of is that Shaun can’t represent everyone who is on the spectrum, and we’re telling his one individual story. So that doesn’t mean that it will be something that everyone who has autism will be able to feel a connection to but hopefully it is someone that will continue to spark a discussion, and start those greater, in-depth research that is necessary to understand autism more fully.