“After getting burned on 100% of my body and spending five and a half months in the hospital and going through dozens and dozens of surgeries, and then amputations, the goal of my life was not to be extraordinary but to be ordinary,” O’Leary explained.
“It wasn’t to stand out but to kind of fade in and disappear … The whole goal in life was to never, ever to be defined by that experience.”
O’Leary said he grew up in a strong Catholic family and credits the Catholic friends he made in college with helping him to retain his faith after leaving home. But he said it wasn’t until later in adulthood, especially after getting married, that he began to take real ownership of his Catholic faith. By reigniting his faith in Christ, “I realized my life no longer could be about me. It had to be about something bigger than me,” he explained.
He said he has also experienced a strengthening of his faith amid the enormous difficulties he has had to overcome since getting burned.
“If your faith is real, you’ve got to praise [God] in the miracles, but you also have to praise him in the defeats and the agony. And the cross points the way forward toward both. It’s not just that we’re an Easter people — the way we get there is through Good Friday. And so you’ve got to praise him in both,” he said.
O’Leary’s life was to take another decisive turn one morning in Mass, when the priest preached on the parable of the talents in Matthew’s Gospel. In this story, Jesus teaches his followers about the importance of using the talents God has given them for his glory.
O’Leary said he still remembers the priest’s words during the homily: “Listen to me clearly. Your life is a precious, priceless gift. Say yes to being used for good.”
Those words stuck with O’Leary, and he said he began from that moment on to say “yes” in earnest to new opportunities that God seemed to be placing in front of him. He became a hospital chaplain in an effort to bring comfort to the many people suffering, as he had, with serious injuries or ailments.
Despite rarely even speaking with friends about what happened to him, O’Leary was invited one day to give a speech to young students at a local school. After that first speaking experience broke the ice, the speaking requests kept coming. More than 2,600 speeches later, John said he is “overwhelmed and utterly in awe” that God could take a life seemingly broken, as his was following the accident, and use it to bless countless others.
“The best part of my story… it’s not surviving the fire, actually. It’s recognizing the grandeur of life. Not just mine, but all of our lives,” he said.
‘We want to get more people engaged in their faith’
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The film has been a work in progress for several years. O’Leary said numerous people had suggested the possibility of a movie after his book, also titled “On Fire,” was released in 2016. O’Leary said he had been open to the idea of a movie but only if it was God’s will — he liked the idea but hadn’t pushed for it. Finally, he met a producer who asked if she could get the ball rolling.
McNamara, a director best known for the inspirational 2011 film “Soul Surfer,” joined the project as director. O’Leary said McNamara, who has a passion for creating “positive, life-affirming movies,” has taken care to give O’Leary a prominent role in the production, seeking his input throughout the process.
“He has insisted I have a seat next to him at the table, which is remarkable because he doesn’t have to,” O’Leary commented. “He wanted my voice heard clearly throughout it all.”
The film is the first major Hollywood production to be shot in St. Louis in years — the first major production to make use of a brand-new movie tax credit signed into law by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson in July. The production completed the filming process on Dec. 8, but the movie won’t be released for approximately another year, O’Leary said.
In the movie, O’Leary is played by Joel Courtney, star of the 2023 film “Jesus Revolution.” The cast also includes John Corbett of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” fame as O’Leary’s father, and the aforementioned Macy as Jack Buck.