Meet The Good Doctor Cast’s Children in Real Life — One Star’s Son’s Rare Disease Inspired a Storyline on the Show

Who Are The Good Doctor Cast’s Children in Real Life?

They may be the brave surgeons of San Jose. St. Bonaventure Hospital, but to The Good Doctor cast’s children, they’re just mom and dad. 

The Good Doctor is ABC’s procedural medical drama following Shaun Murphy, a young autistic surgeon from the small city of Casper, Wyoming, who relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, where he uses near-photographic recall and ability to note minute details to make medical breakthroughs. 

“Shaun is a better person than me,” Freddie Highmore, who plays Shaun, told Deadline in 2018. “He’s less cynical — my British cynicism has gone down.” 

While the cast of The Good Doctor are saving lives on the daily as the talented surgeons of St. Bonaventure, off camera, they’re just parents to their little ones. Meet The Good Doctor cast’s children ahead and see which cast member’s son’s real-life health battle inspired a storyline on the series.

Richard Schiff (Dr. Aaron Glassman)

Richard Schiff — who has played Dr. Aaron Glassman since since Season 1 of The Good Doctor — has two children with his wife, actress Sheila Kelley: son Gus, who was born in 1994, and daughter Ruby, who was born in 2000. Schiff and Kelley, who plays Debbie Wexler on The Good Doctor, married in 1996. 

In an interview with Game Informer in 2022, Eric Williams, the creator of the video game God of War: Ragnarok, revealed that Schiff’s son was crucial to him agreeing to voice and provide the motion capture for the character of Odin in the game. 

“We didn’t think he would even take the call. He doesn’t care about video games,” Williams said. “Eventually, we were like, screw it, let’s just find out. Have him tell us no. So Richard is in the car with his son, who’s a big God of War fan, and he asked his son, ‘Do you know what this God of War thing is?’ And his son was like, ‘Just say yes. It doesn’t matter what it is, just say yes.'”

Williams continued, “And then that night his son went home and wrote two pages for Richard. He broke down the 2018 game for him so he would understand what he was getting into when he would came to meet us the next day. We walked him around, we talked to him, and all that kind of stuff.”

Will Yun Lee (Dr. Alex Park)

Will Yun Lee — who has played Dr. Alex Park since Season 1 of The Good Doctor — has one son with his wife, actress Jennifer Birmingham: a son named Cash, who was born in 2013. Lee and Birmingham, who plays Mia Wuellner in The Good Doctor, married in 2010. 

In an interview with Character Media in 2019, Lee revealed that his son was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a rare blood disorder, when he was three years old. Lee’s son was diagnosed after he had a stroke when he was three years old and was initially diagnosed with central nervous system vasculitis. Cash then underwent multiple 11-hour chemotherapy sessions as Lee and Birmingham lived in and out of hospitals until a second neurosurgeon correctly diagnosed Cash with Moymoya disease. “It was hard to teach the lessons that we had thought we were going to as parents,” Lee said. “We’re not doing the traditional things that we would’ve liked to do, but his path will make him special in his own way.”

He continued, “In terms of friends and family, we had a lot of support. We were raised by incredible parents, which made us stronger as a unit. A lot of families would’ve fallen apart and not made it through.”

Lee’s son’s misdiagnosis inspired a storyline on The Good Doctor in Season 6 in 2023. “I approached the producers and writers, you know, to possibly think about doing a story like this because I thought, you know, I know that there’s only a certain course of life for a TV show,” he told ABC 7 at the time. “And this is such a powerful platform and, and a platform of hope that I was just, like, you know, if I don’t do it now, I might not get another shot at it and, you know being able to bring awareness to moyamoya and being able to possibly save another kid’s life if their parents are able to recognize symptoms sooner than later.”

He also thanked screenwriter Garrett Lerner for writing the episode. “I couldn’t have been happier in terms of how he captured the essence of what we went through. And I think what a lot of parents go through with, with sick kids and, and coming out on the other side.”

Lee also revealed that he cried when he met the child actor who played the character inspired by his son. “I met him on the day and he literally was just–it was, it was, he’s gonna make fun of me for choking up but it was like Cash’s little soul had showed up. He’s a sweet, sweet boy and it reminded me of Cash’s soul,” he said.

Lee also told Character Media that he’s starred on The Good Doctor for so many years so he can support his son and his family. “I’m so fortunate to be in a place where I can help them and take care of a lot of things that need to be taken care of,” Lee said. “Hopefully, my son will learn that story and see how I view my parents. I’m not expecting him to take care of me in my old age, but it’s about paying it forward and paying back.”

He also told the publication about what he wants his son to learn from him. “Out of the stereotypical things we see of Asian fathers he’s very heart-driven,” Lee said. “He’s always followed his heart, and that’s what I hope to give to my son. For so many Asian parents it’s about being a doctor or lawyer and that comes from love, but I guess the lesson would be—and it sounds so cliché, but—follow your heart. What I hope to pass onto my son is to be kind, be strong and never give up. I hope he takes those words with him for the rest of his life.”

Nicholas Gonzalez (Dr. Neil Melendez)

Nicholas Gonzalez — who played Dr. Neil Melendez from Seasons 1 to 3 of The Good Doctor — has two children with his wife, Kelsey Crane: daughter Ever Lee Wilde, who wsa born in 2017, and son Leo Camino, who was born in 2021.

Gonzalez announced the birth of Ever Lee Wilde, who weighed at 8 lbs., 1 oz. and measured at 21 inches longwhen she was born, in a Facebook post in March 2017. “We are looking forward to sleepless nights and blissed-out days,” Gonzalez and Crane told People at the time. “We are so in love with our new, little person. She is the best thing — ever!”

In a Facebook post in 2022, Gonzalez opened up about why he took a break from acting to be with his children. “I wouldn’t say, ‘I’m missing work.’ I feel so fortunate to be the kind of father that, when on breaks from shooting, can spend all day/ every day with my children,” he wrote. “I often think how hard it must have been for my father to be apart from my brother and I when my parents divorced. He was in the Army and at one point, he was stationed in Georgia while we were all the way in Texas. We only saw him on big holidays and stayed with him for a month during the summer.”

He continued, “To this day, I have very vivid memories of my father wiping tears from behind Carrera shades, while watching us take off from the tarmac. When I made the commitment to my wife, I kept this in the back of my head as motivation to never end up in that same position. If you too are fortunate enough to have the time to spend with your children, do it. It’s an investment in their future, as well as yours. If you do not, then do everything in your power to make it happen. So here is to the fathers that make their children a priority. They may not always hear what we tell them but they most certainly watch us and take note of everything we do.”

Christina Chang (Dr. Audrey Lim)

Christina Chang — who has played Dr. Audrey Lim since Season 1 of The Good Doctor — has one child with her husband, Soam Lall: daughter, Samara, who was born in 2012. 

In 2021, Chang shared an Instagram photo of Lall kissing Samara on her arm as a baby in honor of Father’s Day. “From the day she was born the love has run deep and strong,” she wrote in the caption. “Thank you @soamlall. Happy Father’s Day, we lub yew!! 🤎💛 #fathersday #girldad.”

Chuku Modu (Dr. Jared Katu)

Chuku Modu — who has playd Dr. Jared Katu from Season 1 to Season 2 of The Good Doctor — has onechild: a daughter, who was born in 2021. 

In 2021, Modu — who hasn’t revealed the identity of his child’s mother — posted an Instagram photo of him holding his daughter in honor of her third birthday. “My baby girl turned 3 over the weekend,” he wrote. “The hardest thing about what I do is staying sane in-between work. It’s a fine balance of many ingredients. But what it gifts me is time with you. The countless hours in soft play, the nursery runs, trips to the museum. Thank you for keeping me sane little one. For lighting up my world when it starts to get dark.”

He continued, “This parenting ting isn’t easy. And it most definitely does take a village. But it is without a doubt the most wonderful journey I’ve ever embarked on. Being dad will always be the role that I’m most proud of.”

Hill Harper (Dr. Marcus Andrews)

Hill Harper — who has played Dr. Marcus Andrews since Season 1 of The Good Doctor — has one child: a son, Pierce, whom he adopted in 2015. 

In an interview with Yahoo in 2022, Harper, who named his son after Pierce Brosnan, opened up about what it was like to adopt his first child. “I had never really changed a diaper in my life, and three weeks later I was holding a newborn baby in my hands,” he said. 

He told Yahoo that he decided to adopt a child after a friend told him that he shouldn’t wait to be married to start a family. “You’re letting your relationship status dictate your parenting status. What are you waiting for? Why don’t you think about it differently?” Harper recalled his friend telling him.

He continued, “I was like, ‘No …. I want to get married, I want to have kids [but] I’m going to adopt for sure [later on].’ God and the world had different plans.”

He also told Yahoo about the struggles of being a single father, including the awkwardness he experiences with mothers at his son’s school. “They’re like, ‘Should I give you my number? That might make my husband upset,'” he said. “I’m like, ‘Listen, that’s between you and your husband, whatever.’ And so it’s been interesting since I don’t fit into that traditional mom circle.”

He continued, “I never realized how mom-centric everything is. Like, in every book, everything is like, ‘my mom, my mom,’ and it always made me feel some kind of way because of Pierce not having that traditional mom in his life. I always felt, does he feel left out of this?”

Harper also explained why he decided to name his son after Pierce Brosnan, whom he described as a “very near friend” after the two co-starred together in the 1998 movie, The Nephew, which Brosnan also produced. “He and I have been friends ever since, and I’ve had so much respect for him,” Harper said. “I always said to myself, if I ever have a son, I want him to be like Pierce Brosnan, because Pierce is just the coolest dude. He’s relaxed, he’s happy, he’s interesting. He’s an artist, he’s intelligent and he cares about people. So when it was time to choose a name for Pierce, I was like, you know what? … I love getting them together.”

Beau Garrett (Jessica Preston)

Beau Garrett — who played Jessica Preston in Season 1 of The Good Doctor — has one child with her boyfriend: a daughter, who was born in 2022. 

She announced her pregnancy with an Instagram photo of her baby bump in June 2022. “Rainbow baby coming in October. Couldn’t be more excited and grateful we get to go on this ride. #22weekspregnant,” she captioned the photo.

A month before her daughter’s birth, Garrett shared an Instagram slideshow of photos of her boyfriend holding her baby bump. “The ride if a lifetime. Can’t wait to see your face for the first time sweet little babe,” she captioned the post. “May you carry the nobility of your father and the wildness of your mother.”