Freddie Highmore: “The end of the Good Doctor won’t be tear free!”

Freddie Highmore filming the last episodes of :”The Good Doctor”.

“I am going to miss my colleagues and the steak sandwiches made on the set!”

This is a wrap. The last season. As an actor, but also producer, did you have an input on what the final episode will be? And can you give us a little bit of an insight?


Freddie: It’s the last year. It’s funny talking about it right now, today, because we’re still in the middle of filming season seven. In terms of those last storylines, they’re still coming together and being written. And the one thing I can say is it’ll certainly be conclusive for everyone. I think every character on the show will have a satisfying landing place, and there’ll probably be a couple of surprises in there, too, that people will like. We’re still very much in the middle of it and, and sort of excited to just make these last few episodes as good as they can be.


What has been the most emotional reaction within your circle of friends, family …?


Freddie: I think obviously there’s a sort of reaction to it ending. There’s the personal aspect intertwined with the more professional aspect of the job, if you like, because there is so much overlap. And I think you realize that all of these people that you have grown to love and know so well in the crew and obviously the cast, the writers, the directors, everyone in production, it’s going to be a big change to not see them every day. And I think we’re still, given that we’re still in the thick of it. Probably that hasn’t even dawned on us as much as it will when we finally get to filming that last episode.

The fans are already asking for more and  they’re very sad.  Would you be ready if the show go on another platform  or this is an option that is not in your mind at all?


Freddie: I feel like this is the end of the show. I don’t want to pretend otherwise. I think it’s more our mindset is just making these last few episodes as great as they can be and satisfying and  I think also there’s real value in knowing where the end is. On Bates Motel after season three, we knew that there were going to be two more seasons. That kind of gave everyone time to wrap it up conclusively. And I think likewise on The Good Doctor, it’s lovely to be able to write for an end that gives you the freedom to write stories that will have a bit more of a stronger emotional ending, place that feels right and feels more conclusive.

Is there a habit off camera that you’re going to miss with your colleagues?


Freddie: It’s the small little routines. I think those in-jokes that you have. Everyone loves the steak sandwiches on set. That’s a big thing. Everyone will miss those. It’s the  sort of day to day interaction and, and routine that we’ve all built up. Seven years is a long time.

Sean has become a father now . How important is that going to be in the last season? Does it make you think that maybe you could also be ready to be a father in real life ?


Freddie: I guess me and Sean, in that way, it feels entirely separate, but it’s great fun to get to play that on set. We were just talking before about how having babies on set, sort of real babies coming in, is such a magical thing and a magical moment that kind of quietens down the set and  it makes it feel very special. You realize how big a milestone it is for Sean. It’s a very special season in terms of seeing him step into this whole new role and how he’s combining fatherhood and being a parent with his roles at the hospital and saving lives.

There’s a scene where he’s changing diapers and he’s going to do surgery at the same time.
How did you play that scene? Didn’t you feel like it was a bit too much?


Freddie :I think the scene you’re talking about is he’s not actually doing real surgery. He’s just putting on certain medical gear in order to change the  nappy, to change the diaper. So I think it would definitely be too much if Sean was doing surgery with his real baby there. But  that’s not the case.


Who has changed the most  during those seven years, you or your character ?


Freddie: I sort of just the easy answer or the one I’m more focused on is just, you know, the extent to which Sean has changed over, over this time.  I think when we met him at the beginning, he was this young, innocent, um, relatively naive doctor who was coming to a big city for the first time and trying to find his feet and trying to find a way in which he could carve out a place for himself. And by the end, I think that evolution has been huge and really meaningful. And that’s one of the things I’ve always loved working on this show is often in a show that is on broadcast, and there’s a procedural element to it. There’s a desire for the characters to kind of stay the same every week and to not have that sense of progression, but I’m really proud of the way in which Sean has evolved and changed. Um, and it felt sort of necessary and authentic and right.

So it’s going to be a happy ending. It’s not going to be a dramatic ending…


Freddie: Is that right? (laugh)


This has always been a pretty optimistic show so could the end be different?


Freddie: You’re right that the tone of the show, um, I think has always leant into optimism, but it’s also always leant into optimism, even at times that are and finding hope. But  finding hope sometimes in moments that are sad.  I wouldn’t say that it will be a sort of tear free last few episodes, but at the same time, there’s something comforting in finding hope and comfort in hard times.

What is the first thing you’re going to do  the day after you’re going to wrap? Going back to England ?


Freddie :We have our wrap party the very next day.  So that will be nice to sort of say goodbye to everyone properly. And then there’s just a lot of stuff to pack up. The sort of slightly boring logistical side of moving things that you’ve accumulated over all this time back home to the UK.

Going back in time when you were a kid and filmed Finding Neverland. What memories do you keep about working at such a young age with actors like Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet?


Freddie I guess the overriding thing I have looking back is that I was just incredibly lucky, really, to work with such talented, lovely people who were really instrumental in showing me what it was to be professional on set and to care deeply about something, and to want to make it as good as it could possibly be.

Interview : Franck Ragaine—