LOS ANGELES — Freddie Highmore — who had just finished a successful run on the A&E cable series Bates Motel playing Norman Bates — has a very interesting reason as to why he’s so happy to be starring in the ABC medical drama The Good Doctor.
“It’s nice to save people after years of killing them,” Highmore said accenting the comment with a wicked smile.
He’s getting to be a healer, but as with most roles Highmore has played in his young career, his latest character comes with some interesting elements for him to play. His Dr. Shaun Murphy is a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome who joins the surgical team at St. Bonaventure Hospital. His chief — and lone — advocate is Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), a member of the staff who must convinced the hospital’s board and staff to look past their skepticism and prejudices. At the same time, Murphy must adjust to a world full of new people and new responsibilities.
Executive producer David Shore, the man behind House, another medical drama with a unique doctor, understands the initial discussions will be about what the young doctor is able to do. But he expects that to pass because while Murphy is an “atypical doctor,” Shore argues that every member of the medical staff is atypical in their own way. What Shore wants Murphy to be is a catalyst for change because he can look at the world in a different way.
The Good Doctor is based on a Korean series that former Hawaii 5-0 star Daniel Dae Kim saw and brought to Shore’s attention.
“I loved the message of it, and it was a very familiar genre to American audiences in that it’s a medical show. And I thought it would be really a good opportunity to make it in America. And so that was the impetus for me to try and bring it over,” Kim, who is an executive producer on the ABC series, said. “But everyone knows that it’s not enough just to have an intellectual property. You have to have the right people behind it.
“That’s why it was such a crucial element to be able to bring someone like David aboard to bring this vision to life. And he really wrote an incredible script and took it from there. We assembled a great cast, and if you’ve seen the pilot, you know that we might have something special here.”
The real challenge to make the series work falls squarely on Highmore, who had to figure out how to physically play the character. That was not an easy task as the script for The Good Doctor arrived three days after the last episode of Bates Motel was shot.
“Certain parametres have already been defined; at the same time — as with all characters — how to play him is something I’ll work out as I develop the character and get to play him episode after episode,” Highmore said. “I’ll continue to learn more about who he is and how he would react in certain situations.”
Highmore, along with many of the other cast members and production team, have talked with experts, read material and watched documentaries to get a better understanding of autism and savant syndrome. The main thing Highmore gleaned from all of the research is how to find that fine line between reminding the audience that Murphy is dealing with these issues while still giving himself enough room to act.
The fact that he always plays characters with a certain amount of reserve made it easier for him to take on this role.
“Subtlety is always the order of the day with me,” Highmore said. “The camera has a unique ability to see inside people in a way that sometimes we can’t see. I think it is just being truthful to the character and authentic and not worrying so much about how it may be being perceived by the camera.
“Knowing that if it feels right on the inside, that’s the way to go.”
