As The Good Doctor comes to a close with season 7, viewers continue to tune in weekly to catch the inner workings of San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. With the life of Dr. Shaun Murphy being the center of the entire series, the actor behind the character is proud of the work he’s done to display one key element of the role.
When Freddie Highmore spoke to Entertainment Tonight at a Television Critics Association (TCA) event on February 10, the actor discussed the impact The Good Doctor has had on television since the ABC show’s 2017 debut. As he reflected on the journey Shaun has taken since the pilot, Freddie emphasized how the cast and crew took care in showcasing how the character’s autism and savant syndrome played a role in his story arc.
“[Executive producer] David [Shore] and I often discussed this hope and desire that the show would be considered — or at least it certainly was to us — as more than just a TV show and that it spoke to wider issues and themes,” Freddie told the outlet. “I hope, if in some small, tiny, little way, we’ve been able to change perceptions surrounding autism, challenge stereotypes. That would be the thing that I’d be most proud of and that would make it feel, as we’d always hoped it would be, more than just a television show.”
It’s worth noting this isn’t the first time Freddie has spoken out about how important it is for him to portray Shaun accurately. When talking to Variety in March 2019, he said he has a “moral responsibility” to do the role justice on primetime television. “It’s especially important in today’s world to portray different versions of masculinity, not only the stereotypical ones,” he told the publication at the time.