The Good Doctor
Season 4 Me (*115) 20:30 Drama
Tackling a character who’s considered different has been a thrill for Freddie Highmore on medical drama series The Good Doctor. But getting autistic savant doctor Shaun Murphy to be loveable has been somewhat of a labour of love for the British star. “When I played Norman in thriller series The Bates Motel, he was unhinged and mentally unwell. That was easy because psychologists and psychiatrists can tell you how people like that work. Shaun is different because he’s autistic and there are so many different types. No two people are the same.”
Because autism is a brain-related condition and people’s personalities depend on their brains, autistic people have very different personalities. “We met with a good few people who have autism and it was interesting to see how they were so different,” says Freddie. “Shaun for example struggles with interpersonal communication and social awkwardness. He doesn’t understand that he’s operating on a different wavelength. To him, it’s his way or the highway – and more often than not, he is correct… he’s just not sure how to interact with people.”
As for his character’s idiosyncrasies, Freddie observed autistic patients at a mental healthcare facility and tried to replicate their movements. “The way that Shaun holds his hands, it’s because he’s more comfortable explaining what people need to do. But he wrings his hands and while he’s more than capable of performing the most complex surgical procedures, he struggles with touch,” says Freddie, adding that “Shaun doesn’t like being touched. Only people in his inner circle, people he trusts, can touch him – and even then, it’s only with his permission and if he’s comfortable. Playing this character is one of the most amazing gifts for me because he is so complex. Shaun pushes me mentally.”