Just ask The Good Doctor’sPaige Spara, whose character Lea Dilallo has been waiting to walk down the aisle with Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) for most of Season 5, but has been beset with big hiccups. Amid the wedding plans, Dr. Shaun broke up with Lea after she meddled in hospital paperwork and refused to report it to her boss for fear of being fired from St. Bonaventure Hospital, where they both work. She also lied to Shaun about her weekend trip to Montana where she pleaded with Shaun’s close friend and mentor, Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) to return to the hospital and Shaun’s life. Issues of whether their relationship can withstand breaches of trust, continue to be discussed by the lovers, who have weathered many storms since coming together early in the medical drama. Early in the relationship, Lea tells Shaun that she could never be serious about him because of his autism, despite the fact he is a brilliant surgeon. This later feeds Shaun’s insecurities. Spara was initially hired to play Dr. Shaun’s friend and neighbor Lea for two episodes of The Good Doctor, but shortly after, was given a recurring part and the friendship grew into love; a marriage proposal then followed at the end of Season 4. Will they or won’t they get married is the looming question. How does Spara feel about it?“Since day one I wanted Shaun and Lea to be together because I love this relationship so much. It just speaks on patience and empathy,” Spara exclusively tells Parade. “I love the grace that a couple can provide for one another in a relationship and what this looks like with someone who is neurotypical and someone who is diagnosed with autism,” she adds. “I’m absolutely rooting for them, 1,000 percent!” Keep reading for more of Parade’s exclusive Q&A with Paige Spara, including what it’s like working with Freddie Highmore and why The Good Doctor is her dream job.
There are a lot of big topics going on in these next couple of episodes, including a focus on love, trust, honesty, relationships, and will Shaun and Lea ultimately walk down the aisle. Can you talk about that a little bit?
There’s a lot going on. We’re going to pick up on Shaun and Lea addressing a wrong that Lea has made. Yes, it was out of love, but it’s still wrong nonetheless. So, then we’re going to see them explore that conversation to see if they can move forward or not and what that looks like for them. Then in regard to the hospital, there are so many conversations and so much at stake right now in regard to people’s priorities when it comes to medicine and their own belief systems and where that lies.
Do you personally think a couple like Shaun and Lea can overcome all of these obstacles?
I think it depends on the couple. But when it comes to Shaun and I feel like given their track record and the fact that Shaun really calls Lea to be honest with herself and with him. He really is a mirror for her in that sense and I think she’s learned a lot from that. I think she also has proven to herself that she is capable of speaking from an honest, truthful place. I think as long as they have that as their foundation, as we’ve seen, they’re able to come together and move forward in the world. Whatever that looks like for them.
Were some of the wedding prep stuff fun for you? Do you enjoy that?
Oh, yeah. I haven’t ever been married, so trying on all these dresses especially that nightmare sequence with Freddie out in the rain was great, it’s always so fun to film anything with Freddie. What’s coming up for our wedding this season has been so surprising to both of us that we have been having a lot of fun just diving in.
Did you enjoy wearing wedding dresses?
Our wardrobe ladies, Lorraine and Lux, are so lovely. They have been so kind in showing me how to feel good in my body and what that looks like in regard to clothes. They’ve taught me a lot about tailoring. Honestly, shockingly, it’s taught me so much mentally and emotionally about relationships more than I could have ever told you five years ago when I started this show, that’s for sure.
Talk about working with Freddie Highmore.
Since day one, Freddie has made me feel very capable to portray Lea. He has taught me so much about what it means to be a professional in the medical industry and what it means to be a professional for the actors and crew you work with. Those are lessons that I’ll carry with me in the remainder of my career, so I feel really lucky to learn all of those first with Freddie because I just trust everything he does really because he provides such a great example by leading by example.
Can you talk about bad guys—and bullies—our favorite doctors have had to deal with at St. Bonaventure Hospital? For example, Salen is somebody that we all just love to hate.
There is this genuine villainess from her, absolutely. She has me cracking up even in table reads because the authenticity that she’s able to act within regard to this character is just so amazing. Rachel Jones is amazing.
Do you feel that Lea did the wrong thing, changing Shaun’s patient approval scores to make him look and feel better?
That’s a good question. My heart goes to that side of that conversation, for sure, that she meant well and she did it out of love. In the same sense, of course, I can understand where Shaun’s heart lies in this situation. I think it’s very triggering for him. If anything, this situation is very triggering. I think it brings up a lot of their past conversations. I feel like for Shaun, this may have him question are you going to be sidelining a lot of daily situations and tasks because you’re going to give in to my autism or see me as an equal and respect my own path I’m on? That’s such a hard question to answer because there are so many dividends, I feel like we can dissect.
The role of Leawas only supposed to be a couple of episodes. When you became a regular, what was that like personally as an actress?
Oh, personally it changed my life in so many ways. It plucked me from Los Angeles to Vancouver, Canada. It put me in a completely different universe in my late 20s, early 30s. Personally, being around this cast and group at this time in my professional life has been life-altering. It just has taught me so much about the person I want to be as a professional in this world, and who I am as a young adult. I feel very, very lucky to be here right now at this time in my life. It’s crazy.
What kind of fan comments do you get on social media—or in person?
I’m not on social media as much as I used to be. I’ve kind of weaned myself off of that. The comments that I have gotten and I think to continue to get from the little that I go into, they find it so—I find it so humbling and, again, an honor and a privilege to carry forth such a story that has been so impactful and has made so many people feel seen. Especially in regard to Shaun and Lea’s storyline and what their love can look like and what it does look like and how it continuously evolves. I find that to be so rewarding.
Are there other actors that you work with a lot with who you’ve become friendly?
I love everyone in this. Again, we are so lucky because we’ve just been surrounded by the best people. Especially the newbies, I love getting to know Noah [Galvin] and Bria [Henderson]. They have brought this beautiful energy into the show, on set and off, that again I just feel so lucky to be a part of. That’s definitely one of the perks of being an actor, is you are usually surrounded by such lovely people.
Should my readers think about going shopping for that wedding gift?
Should they? Well, I think you’ll have to see. Again, what we have coming up in regard to the Shaun and Lea storyline Freddie and I did not see coming. It is very entertaining and very different and very fun. So that’s all I can say.
I’m getting that wedding gift for Shaun and Lea… just in case.
You know what? No one’s going to say no to that. ABC’s The Good Doctor airs on Monday nights at 10 p.m. ET/9C For more about The Good Doctor, check out, The Good Doctor Is In! Check Out Everything We Know About Season 5, Including the Series’ Feb. 28 Return!
