After seven seasons, “The Good Doctor” came to a heart-rending conclusion, emotionally devastating the dedicated fans who signed on to say so long to Dr. Shaun Murphy and the rest of the cast and crew who populated San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
Variety talked with series star Freddie Highmore (Dr. Shaun Murphy) about saying farewell to the creators and actors he’s shared laborious science monologues and anxiety-inducing surgical scenes with for seven years.
What was the very last scene that you shot as Dr. Shaun Murphy?
The last scene that I filmed was the one where, ultimately, Leah sits down next to Shaun and then talks him into going to becoming aware, I guess, of the situation facing both Claire and Dr. Glassman. That motivates him in the short term to go and speak to Claire [Antonia Thomas] and then come to terms with the fact that Glassman will not be with them for much longer. That felt like the perfect last theme to film.
There’s obviously the bigger, splashier speech, but ultimately, the show has always lived in these tiny little nuances and small moments and small beats between characters. And that last scene with Paige [Spara] certainly felt like that. It was back at the studio. We retreated into one last stage. The rest of the stages and sets were being dismantled. The residence lounge was the last one standing for the last few days of filming.
How did it feel when they said that’s a wrap on Freddie?
It’s hard to describe. I think the general feeling that I’ve felt is it’s a bit like graduation. You are nostalgic because you’re aware of how special these last few years have been with this group of people, and you are aware you’re never going to replicate that again at another point. Of course, it’s moving and emotional in that way, but at the same time, like graduation, you are excited to do other things and to move on. You know that it’s healthy and good and that you can’t stay at university forever. So I’m also excited for everything that’s to come in the future.
I think in some ways, there’s a certain peace that it brings on the last day when you are looking around at all of these people that you love and care about so deeply, and knowing that we got to end the show with the knowledge that it was ending on our own terms and tell the story all the way through to its end. I think gives a certain peace and satisfaction and lovely to have that opportunity to say goodbye to everyone.
Was Shaun’s end game always going to finish as the father of two, leading a neurodivergent program within the medical industry? When did you learn about how his story would end?
I think [series showrunner David Shore] would be better placed to answer this, but from what he has said when I have been around him, there was an original end goal of Shaun becoming a father. That felt like a natural end to the show. Of course, we went past that. And I think that speaks to how much Shaun has been able to grow and change and evolve over the last seven years in time that I’ve got to play him.
I think a tendency perhaps amongst shows that do have a case of the week, procedural element, is that there’s a desire for characters to stay the same week after week. But certainly on this show, it’s been an amazing challenge and an exciting one to play a character who is constantly evolving and constantly changing and growing. When we look at the finale and look back to where Shaun has started, that journey has been a big one.
We saw that growth in the penultimate episode when Shaun shares that moment with Richard Schiff on the stairs, and you put your arm around him. Talk to me a little bit about that scene and what it was like getting to do that.
It’s a subtle one. It’s not too heavy-handed, but it speaks a lot to how far they’ve come with Shaun. I think a part of him, in that moment, is aware that putting his arm around Dr. Glassman is the thing that you should do in order to demonstrate that you care about someone and that you want to support them. It comes from a place of him realizing that, in this moment, he does need to be the person to take care of Dr. Glassman in the way that Dr Glassman has always taken care of him. That’s Shaun’s journey as well in the last episode: accepting Dr. Glassman’s wishes and accepting that he has to support him rather than Dr. Glassman being the one who has always supported Shaun in whatever he has wanted and strived for.
