Season 5 of “Good Doctor”, broadcast every Wednesday on TF1, will end next week with the wedding of Shaun and Lea. Paige Spara and Hill Harper tell us more about this not-to-be-missed finale and the evolution of their characters.
AlloCiné: Season 5 of Good Doctor ends with an event eagerly awaited by fans: the wedding of Shaun and Lea. What memories do you keep of the filming of this episode rich in twists and turns?
paige spara (Lea): It was great, I have very fond memories of it, because we were all together. It was great to shoot the last episodes of season 5 together. The finale is both dramatic and tragic, because a lot of things are happening that we can’t reveal, and also very festive.
I think we were really happy to experience this rollercoaster of emotions all together. Because in fact, it must be said, it is quite rare for all the actors in the series to be together on screen in the same scene.
Hill Harper (Marcus Andrews): What I loved is that the last episode is the perfect end to this fifth season, in the sense that it really comes full circle. If you remember, season 5 already started with a wedding, but it was a dream, it was in Lea’s head. Everything was going pretty badly and she ended up waking up completely panicked (laughs).
Filming the finale immediately brought me back to this first episode and this first wedding sequence. We were all together already, but it was a much nicer time of year. The weather was perfect when we shot the first episode, in August 2021. There is one sunny day a year in Vancouver, usually August 7 (laughs). The rest of the year we have rain and gray skies, that’s another thing.
Starting the season with this fictional wedding and ending it with another beautiful, and much more intimate wedding, I thought was a very nice parallel. And a really nice finishing touch for all of us.
Jeff Weddell/ABC/Sony Pictures Television
What is your assessment of this fifth season and the evolution of your characters since the beginning?
Paige Spara: I’m happy because I think we discovered a “new Lea” this year, more committed and more independent. And I loved exploring these different facets and everything that makes her grow as a woman.
Lea has evolved a lot, whether on a personal level, professionally, or in her relationship with Shaun. I’m getting more and more attached to Lea and I’m happy to see that she is taking an increasingly important place in the series and in the hearts of fans.
Hill Harper: Season 5 was phenomenal for my character. Marcus is faced with new challenges, there is a romantic relationship emerging, and a lot of “political” conflict within the hospital. I found these episodes very rich, and fascinating to work on.
I think season 5 is definitely one of my favorites. Especially since we were coming out of the Covid. We were simply grateful to be able to continue to work together.
And in terms of evolution, I like the fact that Marcus was introduced as a very strong, somewhat tough character who is driven above all by his ego and his career. And that we have little by little explored his humanity and his humility.
Difficult things happened, and instead of closing in even more and getting angry, he kind of opened up. Not too much, because it remains the same character. That’s what makes the writing on our show so effective: it’s very nuanced. But still, we feel this evolution.
ABC/Jeff Weddell
We learn during season 5 that Marcus Andrews is dyslexic. Is it important for you that the series deals with societal themes like this?
Hill Harper: Absolutely. It’s a big revelation and a big upheaval for my character. But that’s what I love about Good Doctor: the show, as a whole, is about people who aren’t “neurotypical.”
Finally, the viewers can recognize themselves in Shaun, in Lea, in Marcus. Because no matter the complexities of each, or the handicaps that we may have, we all have something to bring to the world around us. We all have value. And I think that’s the message of Good Doctor basically.
Paige Spara: That’s right. The series shows that vulnerability is actually strength. And I’m so proud to be part of a series that sends such a message.
What kind of partner and comrade is Freddie Highmore, who plays Shaun Murphy?
Hill Harper: I’ll answer first because Paige spends almost 99% of her scenes with Freddie, so she’s bound to have a lot to say. But I think we all agree on one thing: Freddie Highmore is one of the most brilliant actors of American television. He deserves to win all the awards, from the Emmys to the Golden Globes, and I don’t think he’s been named enough.
He created a fascinating character. And he plays Shaun so well that people think he’s like him. It’s incredible.
Paige Spara: Hill said it all I think (laughs). No, I love working with Freddie. He brings out the best in the people around him. He makes me feel better as an actress, he reminds me how lucky I am to be doing my dream job. I am grateful to be able to learn from him, both professionally and personally. It helps me navigate everything we experience through this series. It is a pleasure to work with Freddie. You couldn’t dream of a better partner.
Interview during the 2022 edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.