Actor Freddie Highmore plays Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young genius who works at San Jose St Bonaventure Hospital. For English, playing the protagonist of Good Doctor, a talented doctor diagnosed with autism and savant syndrome, became a matter of challenge and study. The London actor took on the responsibility of showing the doctor’s condition in the best way, and he told Scroll Inn, “it required more preparation than any role I have done on television. In terms of autism, it was important to all of us that the representation of the condition was authentic. We were aware that Shaun is representing the story of an individual and not everyone on the autism spectrum. The key was to portray his journey as an individual and not as someone who is simply autistic.”
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Until that moment, the artist’s knowledge about autism was limited to some people around him who had this condition, but audiovisual material allowed him to see it from another dimension. “I read a lot and I watched a brilliant documentary on Netflix called ‘Autism in Love,’ which is great, because it focuses on the most human and profound emotion we can feel, which is being in love,” he recalled for the Los Angeles Times.
Highmore continues studying
David Shore, the main scriptwriter of the program, was his crusade partner, and before making the pilot they did the respective research, with the advice of consultant Melissa Reiner, “we also read books, pieces of literature and documentaries that we thought were useful or that they would give us some kind of vision of the construction of this character,” Popcorn told ABC. Even after being in the middle of filming, Freddie receives good feedback for the development of his character and continues studying, as if he were really a doctor. “I’ve spoken to people who feel like they have a personal connection to the show through autism and they’re happy or grateful that he’s trying to raise awareness in that way,” he told Digital Spy.
In this series, which is currently being seen in Colombia on Sony Channel, and which ABC directors confirmed will have a seventh season, the characterization of Freddie Highmore has deserved much praise, precisely the special care with which he uses his body to be able to represent to perfection Dr. Shaun Murphy’s condition, especially the way he places his hands, because according to what the actor told the Los Angeles Times, the little ones who were diagnosed were encouraged to adopt that position. For the artist, one of Murphy’s great virtues is the humanity that he shows in each chapter, as he mentioned to USA Today. “People with autism on screen have often been portrayed as emotionless or singularly focused on one thing, and that’s not true. We get to see Shaun in moments of joy, which makes him emotional, along with the real struggle he is facing.”
Johnny Deep recommended Freddie Highmore
Freddie Highmore was 13 years old when he played Charlie Bucket, the boy who wins the golden ticket and with his grandfather, visits the mythical place where the best sweets were made in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a role he obtained thanks to Johnny Deep, who had been pleasantly surprised with the little boy’s work in Finding Neverland, in 1999. The 31-year-old Londoner is also jealous of his private life, so much so that his marriage became known when Jimmy Kimmel, on his show, asked him about the ring that he was wearing. The actor, who did not have social networks, did not reveal the identity of his life partner, but said that they do not like to be labeled ‘husbands’.
