LOS ANGELES, USA – “The 100th episode feels the same, yet [is] a very big milestone and something very meaningful,” Freddie Highmore, beaming on the Vancouver set of The Good Doctor, said about his series’ big day.
Freddie and I were seated in director chairs, facing each other, on the popular medical drama’s realistically detailed set.
The boyish-faced Freddie, whose Dr. Shaun Murphy anchors The Good Doctor – now also celebrating its sixth season – continued, “You hold yourself away on the set, you keep going, put one foot in front of the other, try and tell these stories as best we can, and then suddenly, you blink. And a hundred episodes have gone by, which is kind of crazy.”
“But I feel very lucky more than anything to have been able to play this character for so long. And also, for people not just in the US but internationally to have responded to the show. It’s amazing.”
The synopsis of The Good Doctor’s 100th episode, titled “Hot and Bothered” and streaming Monday, November 14, is outlined in the show’s press release: “In the midst of a heatwave, Dr. Shaun Murphy andDr. Danica Powell (Savannah Welch) is at odds when it comes to their patient’s surgery. Their heated stalemate tests Shaun’s patience and his willingness to compromise.”
“Meanwhile, when the hospital loses power, Lea (Paige Spara) and Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) is forced to come up with a quick solution or risk a total shutdown that could risk patients’ lives.”
Sitting just steps away from the beds of the St. Bonaventure Hospital ER set, on one of the soundstages that the Prime Video show is using in Bridge Studios, Freddie enthused about how the hospital drama is well-loved all over the world.
“I’m continually surprised in the sense that it’s never something we can take for granted,” said the actor, who was not in his scrubs costume since he was not filming on the day I visited the set. “I just feel very lucky that people continue to tune in, watch the show, and to want to see these stories.”
“I feel like it’s increasingly rare to get to play a part on television that lasts for this length of time, these many seasons, and this number of episodes. And so, it certainly feels like a special show to be on as it represents something that is becoming increasingly rare.”
Freddie’s portrayal of a surgeon with autism and savant syndrome is highly praised. The London native stole many people’s hearts when he was a young boy (he was only 12 years old) in Marc Forster’s Finding Neverland.
Who can forget Freddie’s tearful face in that bench scene with Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland? That is considered one of the greatest tearjerker scenes and movie moments of all time.
