Freddie Highmore Says Farewell to “The Good Doctor”: It's 'Just Hard' to 'Think About the End' (Exclusive)

The actor reflects on the ABC medical drama's seven seasons and hints the series finale will see the characters off "into the future"

The Good Doctor may be ending, but Freddie Highmore hasn't quite wrapped his mind around that reality yet.

During PEOPLE's visit to the ABC medical drama’s Vancouver set in March, Highmore reflected on the show’s seven seasons. Playing the brilliant surgeon Shaun Murphy, navigating his professional and personal journey as well as working on The Good Doctor overall has been a gift.

“It's funny looking back at the seven years, and I think it's going to be so hard to say goodbye to this,” Highmore, 31, says, referring to the cast and crew. “We've gone through so much together.”

“COVID came in the middle of filming, and so I think that especially forced us to bond together,” he continues. “We were the only people that any of us were seeing outside of an immediate family for a good couple of years, and so I think when you go through those things with people, it obviously brings you closer.”

Related: The Good Doctor: Shaun Murphy's 5 Best Moments That Made Us Laugh and Cry

In the show’s penultimate episode entitled “Unconditional,” Shaun shares with Hannah (Ruby Kelley), who is struggling with drug addiction, how Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff) has had a profound impact on his life. Morgan (Fiona Gubelmann) and Alex (Will Yun Lee), meanwhile, finally tie the knot, while Claire (Antonia Thomas) undergoes treatment at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital for stage 1 breast cancer.

Highmore hints the series finale, airing Tuesday, May 21, will offer viewers a “satisfying” ending.

“It's going to be a surprising ending but also an ending that I think is all good finales do: remind us of the beginning and tie together this journey that Shaun and all of our characters have been on,” he says. “It will feel like in some ways we've come full circle, but at the same time see our characters off into the future.”

Looking back, the actor is particularly proud of how The Good Doctor has portrayed Shaun’s autism in a nuanced, respectful way. Since the pilot in September 2017, which opened with a glimpse of how Shaun sees the world, the show has chronicled the character's ups and downs as well as how he’s overcome prejudices and discrimination because of his neurological condition.

Related: The Good Doctor to End at ABC After 7 Seasons: 'It's Time to Say Goodbye'

Highmore's performance and his dedication to portraying autism as “authentically as possible” remain one of The Good Doctor’s strengths.

“That's been the thing that's most, and has always been, most important to me in playing the role,” he says. “If there is anything I hope the show has done, I hope that in some small, tiny little way, it has helped challenge stereotypes, change people's perceptions about autism. That would be the thing that certainly makes me most proud, and that was always our aim and intention.”

While Highmore says it’s hard to say goodbye to his character, parts of him will always remain.

“He is so hopeful and optimistic,” he says. “I feel that's what people have over the years connected with about him, that he sees a good in people, that he reminds you, that even when we're different — we're all actually more the same than different — and I think hopefully he's imbued me with, hopefully he's made me a better person.”

Related: The Good Doctor Cast Says Goodbye with Nostalgic Throwbacks and Behind-the-Scenes Photos from the Series Finale

Over the years, Highmore, who got married in 2021 but has not shared his wife’s identity, spent many months away from his home in London shooting The Good Doctor. He even recently mused on Jimmy Kimmel Live!  that his “one regret is never embracing my full Canadian outdoorsy personality.”

Looking to the future, the actor is admittedly unsure what’s next for him after The Good Doctor. “I honestly have no idea. It probably won’t sink in that it’s all over until they take a sledgehammer to the set,” he shares. “Seven years is a long time, and it's also just hard right now to think about the end. … In some ways, it probably won't sink in really until it is finally all over and they start taking a sledgehammer to the set.”

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The Good Doctor’s series finale airs on Tuesday, May 21 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. All 7 seasons of The Good Doctor are available to stream on Hulu.

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