Shaun Murphy (The Good Doctor)

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Shaun Murphy
The Good Doctor character
Dr. Shaun Murphy, portrayed by Freddie Highmore
First appearance"Burnt Food" (2017)
Created byDavid Shore
Based onPark Si-on (Good Doctor)
Portrayed byFreddie Highmore
Graham Verchere (teen)
Winslow Fegley (child)
In-universe information
Full nameShaun Robert Murphy
GenderMale
TitleM.D.
Occupation
  • Surgical Attending at St. Bonaventure Hospital
  • Surgical Resident (formerly)
  • Pathology Resident (briefly)
Family
  • Steve Murphy † (younger brother)
  • Marcie Murphy (mother)
  • Ethan Murphy † (father)
SpouseLea Dilallo (Wife)
Significant otherAaron Glassman (mentor/surrogate father)
Children
  • Steven Aaron Murphy (son)
OriginCasper, Wyoming, U.S
NationalityAmerican

Shaun Murphy,

autistic surgical resident with savant syndrome[1] at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, Murphy develops a relationship with Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara
) throughout the show.

Storylines

Shaun Murphy first appears in the show's pilot episode "Burnt Food", where his unique ability to visualize the human body helps him stabilize an injured child. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), president of San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, advocates for him to be hired despite a board that believes he is untenable.[2]

Development

Casting

In February 2017, Deadline Hollywood reported that English actor Freddie Highmore had been cast as Shaun Murphy.[1] In flashbacks, Murphy is portrayed by Canadian actor Graham Verchere.[3]

Characterization

In developing the character of Shaun Murphy,

womanizer. Speaking for his portrayal of the character, Highmore said, "He's not cynical, he's not judgmental."[4] At Series Mania, Highmore argued that Murphy plays a larger role as someone who demonstrates masculinity while deviating from stereotypical depictions of a masculine person.[5]

A defining condition of the character is his subversion of social norms, stoic body language, and difficulty maintaining eye contact,

tilt shift lenses.[10]

Reception

Throughout the run of The Good Doctor, the character has polarized audiences. A 2019 study stated that audiences who watched The Good Doctor had a greater knowledge of autism than a college lecture on the subject.

savant,[12] a criticism shared by several researchers in The Lancet.[8] In Mental Health Disorders on Television: Representation Versus Reality, Kimberley McMahon-Coleman and Roslyn Weaver compared Murphy with autistic savant Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man (1988),[13] as did Murray Pomerance and R. Barton Palmer.[14]

In an essay published in

health sciences students.[16] Several researchers compared Murphy favorably to Atypical's Sam Gardner and Speechless's JJ DiMio, who suffers from cerebral palsy, as an optimistic character.[17]

Critically, the character of Shaun Murphy has received some praise. The New York Times television critic James Poniewozik called Murphy an "anti-anti hero" in contrast to Gregory House, the protagonist of House; both shows were created by David Shore.[18] In the season one episode "She", Murphy is shown failing to comprehend a transgender patient.[19] Slate journalist Sara Luterman, who is autistic herself, noted an overlap between autism and transgender individuals. Luterman later stated to The Washington Post that although she reviewed the show's first season favorably, she no longer watches the show.[12]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (February 24, 2017). "'The Good Doctor': 'Bates Motel's Freddie Highmore & 'HTGAWM' Mystery Man Nicholas Gonzalez Cast In ABC Pilot". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Gordon, Seth (September 2017). "Burnt Food". The Good Doctor. ABC.
  3. ^ Wiegand, David (September 22, 2017). "'Good Doctor' is a tearjerker". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Koblin, John (November 19, 2017). "How ABC Found a Surprise Hit in 'The Good Doctor'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Hopewell, John (March 24, 2019). "Series Mania: Freddie Highmore Talks 'The Good Doctor,' Arsenal, Norman Bates". Variety. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Clement, Nick (May 2018). "An Embrace of Difference". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation.
  7. ^ Louise, Duff (May 2018). "Series stands for inclusion, whether onscreen or off". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation.
  8. ^ a b Baños, Cambra-Badii & Guardiola 2018, p. 844.
  9. ^ Tomashoff, Craig (September 2018). "Now Paging The Good Doctor". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation.
  10. ^ Idelson, Karen (May 2018). "Visualizing the Enigmatic: Mind of a genius". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Media Corporation.
  11. ^ Stern & Barnes 2019, p. 1.
  12. ^ a b Iati, Marisa (May 11, 2023). "'The Good Doctor' memes go viral, reigniting debate about autism portrayal". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  13. ^ McMahon-Coleman & Weaver 2020, p. 41-42.
  14. ^ Pomerance & Barton Palmer 2022, p. 50.
  15. ^ Zuger 2018, p. 1.
  16. ^ Cambra-Badii, Pinar & Baños 2019, p. 84-88.
  17. ^ Aspler, Harding & Cascio 2022, p. 337-338.
  18. ^ Poniewozik, James (November 12, 2017). "On 'The Good Doctor,' the Anti-Antihero Is In". The New York Times. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Gordon, Seth (February 2018). "She". The Good Doctor. ABC.

Works cited

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