A good talk

A good talk

The Good Doctor revolves around a young  autistic savant surgical resident Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) at San Jose St Bonaventure Hospital in California. Hill Harper plays the character of Dr Marcus Andrews, who is initially skeptical of Murphy, but later becomes a sort of a mentor to him. Talking about how the show is different from various medical dramas on air, Harper says, “In most of those other shows, the main character is either cute or funny, or heroic. In our case, he’s almost the antihero. Dr Shaun Murphy doesn’t say or do the right thing at the right time. But ultimately he breaks his own chains. The show is about overcoming obstacles and celebrating differences. The reason it is so successful around the world is because people everywhere can relate to it, whether they are knowledgeable about how hospitals function or not.” 

FOCUS ON AUTISM
The show introduces audiences to the perspective an autistic person has of the world. Harper shares how people reach out to him on social media to convey how the show has helped them relate. “On a daily basis, someone reaches out to me saying, ‘My son/cousin/daughter is dealing with autism and they’re able to point to the show and say that’s how they see the world.’ It has helped audiences understand that different people dealing with different issues see the world differently. But it doesn’t mean that they’re wrong, it just means they are seeing the world differently, which is okay. We don’t always have to see the world in the exact same way,” he says. 

He adds that he met with a number of groups and individuals who deal with autism. “When I met with young people with autism and counselors who deal with them, it was a huge educational experience for me because I hadn’t been that familiar with autism before the show. It opened my eyes in the same way that I think it did for people watching the show,” he says, adding that he is very proud of the way the show has been written. 

EVOLUTION OF CHARACTER
Thanks to superb writing, the focus of the show is right on track. And it allows space for characters to evolve as they grow. “I’m so happy to see evolution of my character which started out as the antagonist who has developed a respect and empathy for Shaun. And though he has moved into more of a mentor role, the foundational elements of the character haven’t changed. The way Marcus sees Shaun and whether he deserves to be there, obviously, has changed and you can see that evolution over time. In most shows these days, once the character is established in a certain way, they keep it that way the whole time. Great writing really allows characters to grow and evolve, which is wonderful,” he says. 
 
REEL AND REAL
Coming from a family of doctors — psychiatrist father and the mother being one of the first practising African-American anaesthesiologists in the US, it was only natural for Harper to be inspired to take up this role. He can relate to the hospital culture because of this background. “Hospital culture is very complicated bcause of the work. You also have politics, people have different goals. But most of her career, my mom put on her scrubs and showed up in an operating room, just like most of what my character does,” says he. 

Being a father to a three-and-a-half year old son in real life, and simultaneously becoming a sort of a father-figure to Dr Murphy on the show, has shaped Harper as a person. “It’s certainly increased my empathy, my heart has opened up much wider and that’s why I feel fortunate to be on the show. In many ways, my character is evolving to be more of a father figure to Shaun, and I can embrace this naturally because I’m experiencing being a father in my real life,” says the actor whose residence is located adjacent to the set of another medical drama New Amsterdam. “Imagine if Dr Marcus had been sent to that hospital, he would have had a really easy commute,” he laughs. 

Known to be Barack Obama’s basketball buddy during his days in Harvard Law School, he believes that the ex-President is too busy to watch his show, but he believes that (and hopes) that “he probably DVRs it because The Good Doctor is the number one show right now.” The actor is currently writing another book which he hopes to release by 2020. 

SEASON 3
At the end of season 2, Dr Marcus Andrews is hired back. “In the first two seasons, my character was attempting to be a leader and rise on the hieracrhy scale, and now he’s back to actually working for people he used to be the boss of. He’s not going to be striving to go to the next level, he’s just going to relax. He’s going to be a little more humble, and go back to the essence of why he decided to be a surgeon in the first place,” he says. 

The upcoming season will have the residents take leadership positions. “It’s going to be interesting how a character like Shaun, who has always been mentored, will take the lead in situations.  Also, how this will impact the way the team of residents will behave with each other,” he adds.

There are going to be some exciting guest stars in the upcoming season, including Josh Malina from The West Wing. “I met him at my friend Julie Hill’s wedding. He plays a wonderful character on the show and he’s amazing to work with,” says he. 

INCLUSIVITY
“My friend Gabriel Union said to me, ‘Wow the show is so diverse, I had to check my own mindset. I’m so not used to seeing that’. But if you go to a real hospital, you will see that they are really diverse in real life. We tend to underdiversify the selection of images on television,” says Harper, citing the example of the popular show F.R.I.E.N.D.S. “The show is set in New York city, that is ridiculous. If you're in New York, you would never see a coffee shop that is so non-diverse. The entire city is diverse everywhere you go. The Good Doctor depicts the melting pot that our society really is, and this is valued by the show. While there is a lot of politics and talk about race and diversity in the real world, our show is about celebrating different mindsets and viewpoints, and this has a postive impact,” he says. 

ST READER SERVICE
The Good Doctor: Season 3 premieres on October 8, airing every Tuesday at 11pm, only on Colors Infinity.

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