Dr. Shaun Murphy portrayed by actor Freddie Highmore in "The Good Doctor"

This image is a prime example of Dr. Shaun Murphy's savant condition in action, allowing him to vizualize the sitiation and then come up with a solution or treatment by "testing" it in his active mind. Standing near him is Dr. Aaron Glassman who serves as his superior and one of his mentors throughout the show. “The Good Doctor” is a show about Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join the surgical unit at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital -- a move strongly supported by his mentor, Dr. Aaron Glassman. Having survived a troubled childhood, Shaun is alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, but he finds his niche using his extraordinary medical skill and intuition to save lives and challenge the scepticism of his colleagues. – According to Rotten Tomatoes Dr. Shaun Murphy is played by actor Freddie Highmore. For those who recognize the name, one of the actor's early performances was as Charlie in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. While Freddie Highmore does not have autism himself, he took many steps to prepare for the role. Proper and realistic representation of individuals with autism was at the centre of concern for Freddie when he took on the role. As someone who has many family members and friends with ASD, he carefully prepared for the role by spending time with them to hear about their experience of living with the condition and learning some of its major characteristics. Additionally, Freddie took the time to watch documentaries about autism and even the experience of living with the condition. As a viewer of the show, it comes as a bit of a shock to me the way that Dr. Shaun Murphy is represented on the show considering the actor does not have the disability. According to Distractify, the performance is “so believable” and I would agree with their assessment of the performance. Beyond his personal preparation between speaking with family and friends and watching documentaries during the filming process Freddie Highmore continuously consulted with Dr. Melissa Reiner who is an expert who provided guidance and wisdom. One reason many individuals might question the performance of Freddie Highmore is because the Autism presents a bit distinctly in Dr. Shaun Murphy. Rather than this distinction is in regards to Dr. Shaun Murphy’s second condition “savant syndrome, in which they present with enhanced capabilities in memory, calculation, or artistic or musical abilities” (source). This is the condition that allows the doctor to visualise the problem and come up with “magical” solutions. However despite the complexity of the conditions of Dr. Shaun Murphy, actor Freddie Highmore presents the character in realistic lights. If there are stereotypes of the character, they are minimal, as for the most part the acting is believable and feels authentic even though Freddie does not live his daily life with any of these conditions. I personally find that his acting is surprisingly positively representing the conditions with little to no stereotypes. Therefore, I would argue that Freddie’s ability to play this role is more the less a question of ethics. Is it ethically correct that Freddie represents this condition without living his life with the condition? What are the ethical implications of having such convincing acting from an actor who does not live with those conditions?

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