“The Good Doctor” premiered last month on ABC to strong ratings and highly complementary reviews for its lead star Freddie Highmore. Highmore has been almost universally lauded for his portrayal of Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgical intern who suffers from autism. Should Highmore’s work continue to be strong in this drama series that just earned a full-season order, might he finally receive the Emmy recognition he was so criminally denied during his just completed run as Norman Bates on “Bates Motel”?
While Highmore and his “Bates Motel” co-star Vera Farmiga were both highly regarded for that show’s five-season run on A&E, the show was never able to gain favor with Emmy voters and Highmore remained unrecognized. Farmiga did manage to earn one Best Drama Actress nomination, but that was the only Emmy acting accolade the show received.
Highmore has been doing acclaimed work for more than a decade now despite his young age and was even considered a possible Oscar nominee in 2004 for his work in the movie “Finding Neverland.” That film told the story of “Peter Pan” author J.M. Barrie’s relationship with a widow (Kate Winslet) and her four sons who were the inspiration for his story. Highmore portrayed the oldest of the sons and received a SAG nomination for Best Supporting Actor, as did Johnny Depp for Best Actor who played Barrie. While Depp went on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his role in the film, Highmore was left off the Oscar nominee list.
“The Good Doctor” is created by David Shore, who executive produced another popular medical drama, “House,” that garnered many awards nominations for an unconventional doctor played by Hugh Laurie. Should Highmore’s work in the series continue to impress, it could be a perfect chance for Emmy voters to right the oversights they made in ignoring his work on “Bates Motel.”
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