Transcript for Freddie Highmore on his success in ‘The Good Doctor’
television for me, and I’m not alone. It is one of the biggest hits in decades. Freddie highmore stars as a brilliant surgeon who has autism and unique in how heorks with patients. Did you tell the mom that she caused her baby’s birth defect? No, I said that her anti-depressants could have. Why did you tell her that? It’s the truth. And is that relevant to her current medical situation? No. And how do you think that answer would make her feel? What do you think would happen? The mother is devastated. The father is furious. I would be, too. Please welcome Freddie highmore. So I love this show. I love you! Oh. And you are an incredible actor, and you have celebrated your birthday yesterday? Yes. Happy birthday. So you play, if you have not seen the show, you play a surgical resident who has autism, and it is the most watched show on ABC television in 13 years. Wow. And there are highs and lows and moments that I watched it, and I’m on maternity leave so my hormones were everywhere and I cry and laughed, and are you surprised at the reak sthaun the show has gotten? Surprised would insinuate that we didn’t like it ourselves, but we were hopeful that it would connect with people, but I guess perhaps it is exactly that the hope and optimism that the show has as its message that have drawn people to it. Have you changed your opinion about autism, playing that role? Absolutely. I have learned so much about it. It is a necessary part of the research that went into building the character. Freddie, I am about to get married and my soon to be grandson is autistic and I remember when the show first came on and his mom was so excited and telling me that I needed to watch the show, and the same thing that I have heard from other people who have autism in their family. Have you gotten that feedback and what does it mean to you? Yes. And those I guess those responses are the most inspiring and heartwarming. It feels like it makes it a bit more than a television show than just a television show. I guess I feel very lucky and honored the play this character, and hopefully, yes, he can make a difference. Well, you do it very, very well, and so thank you on behalf of the autism community. And so I’m an Al Friday Hitchcock junkie and I loved “The bates motel” and you did a great job with the original movie, and just one of the all-time great shows and I loved the actors. And you don’t just star on the show, but you wrote the first episode and directed the upcoming episode Monday and you described being in the writer’s room as group therapy, and tell me why. Well, it is an environment, and I am sure that you have it here as well where everyone shares their kind of the deepest Stor res and the most personal things in order to, you know, make the best show possible in this case or to understand everyone. So in that way, yes, I guess it is a little bit like group therapy. Yes. I, too, love Alfred Hitchcock and “The bates motel” and what is shocking is that you starred in that for five seasons and nailed that role. You were really creepy in it, and so now, my understanding is that you started to work on the pilot for “The good doctor” three days after youed filming “The bates motel” and how do you go from playing a creepy psychotic killer so well to playing this incredible role of a doctor who saves lives? He is an actor. Well, I mean, it is, I was side eyeing you, Ana, because it is a leap. And it is the moral gift to have killed so many people. In that way, it was the responsible thing to do. And so it is three days, but you can never entirely know when the great opportunities will come around and you have to seize it. And Freddie, you are not new to the business because you were a child actor and in “Finding neverland” and “Charlie and the chocolate factory” from when you were a little tot. There I am. And just the other day, we were talking about how child actors get very screwed up in the business, and — And yet, here I am. And soy heard from my spies that you are not screwed up and that you are quite Normal. Well, thank you. And so is that because you came up in England and not in Hollywood? Tell the truth. Go ahead and tell her how screwed up you are. And I guess that you could only speak to one’s own experience, but for me, certainly growing up in London and having that Normal upbringing, it was not as a kid being defined as an actor as the same way in America was helpful to me. They nurture you more as a young actor in England, because this I have so many dickdickens’ plays and things going on so they need so many kids. Growing up, I wanted to be a soccer player. And you took time off to go to college which in a way gave you a break to figure out if acting is something that I want to do and be my choice. Yes, going to the the university is important for me to as you said not feel like I fell into it or made an active decision as an adult to pursue acting. And no social media. No. The whole argument of — Oh, you are not on social media? No. Really. Is that okay? Is that a conscious decision? I am a year older than yesterday, but still relatively young. I never missed as a young kid at 9 or 10 that I was a social media thing. And can you believe that, Megan. I believe it and you are probably more emotionally healthy than those others, so stay off of it. Okay. That is incredible. T to know if you are team Meghan or team Kate? I thought that it had to go with the show, team Meghan or team Kate and making my think between all of you. So of course. And the duchess. So, Meghan on the panel, I would go for you. You handled yourself brilliantly. And so we loved having you. And so our thanks to fredly highmore and of course, “The good doctor” airs right here on ABC on Mondays at 9:00 P.M. Happy birthday, Freddie.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.