Tamlyn Tomita is "very, very different" from Allegra Aoki, her character on The Good Doctor. While the fictional chairwoman and vice president of the foundation that controls St. Bonaventure Hospital must remain consistently poised and positive as the face of the institution, Tomita is not afraid to speak her truth.

"I advocate loudly for persons, issues, and topics I believe in," the actress exclusively told CountryLiving.com. One topic she believes in is representation in television—despite what critics of The Good Doctor may think.

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ABC's freshman medical drama stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy. Highmore plays a talented young surgeon with autism and savant-syndrome, but in real life, the actor is neurotypical. The show faced some criticism after it was revealed that a person with autism would not be playing the lead, but Tomita assures Highmore has the upmost respect for his role.

"I can’t speak for Freddie. But I can attest to his diligence in making sure his portrayal as an individual with autism and as a savant [is done] with as much truthfulness and as much realism as possible, because he knows the responsibility that's on his shoulders," Tomita says.



She explained that the 26-year-old actor is "always open" to the criticism he faces, because it makes him more sensitive in his representation of Dr. Shaun Murphy. "Freddie Highmore is consistent and persistent in making sure his portrayals are not stereotypical, that they're unexpected, and that they're true to the individual of his [character]," says Tomita.

Members of the community seem to agree. “We applaud The Good Doctor for featuring Dr. Sean Murphy, a person with autism as the main character," says Lisa Goring, Chief Program and Marketing Officer at Autism Speaks. "We’re also happy that ABC and the show’s producers have created a central character with autism who is able to work and who contributes to his workplace; in the next 10 years more than 500,000 people with autism will be joining the workforce."

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Still, Tomita understands where the skepticism from some viewers stemmed from.



"The criticisms are valid. Of course we could have had an actor with autism play Dr. Shaun Murphy," she says. However, Tomita made it clear that the series producers had actors both with and without autism audition for the role, before deciding on Highmore. They also encouraged actors who have autism to audition for other roles that are on the show, and cast one young man with autism in an episode called "22 Steps."

The actor, Coby Bird, later wrote on Instagram that "Freddie deserves every award there is for playing Dr Shaun Murphy [and] for giving a voice to the Autism community."



Though Highmore acted alongside Bird in that episode, it was certainly not the first time he worked on set with someone who had autism. "Day in and day out, Freddie works closely with autism experts, as well as persons within the autism community to make sure he really does play it as authentically as possible," Tomita says.



"I can assure those audience members [who criticize the show] that Freddie Highmore doesn't take his responsibility lightly," the actress insists.

The Good Doctor airs September 24th at 10:00 p.m. EST on ABC.



Emily Schiff-Slater

Kelly O'Sullivan Content Strategy Editor Kelly O’Sullivan is the content strategy editor for The Pioneer Woman and manages the website’s social channels, in addition to covering entertainment and lifestyle news.

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