Every morning during the filming of “On Fire,” John O’Leary would text the actors to remind them of what they’re portraying in the movie.

“It goes way deeper than what they’re acting,” O’Leary said, adding that there have been countless moments of God’s grace on set and behind the scenes. “It’s love embodied: of service, of generosity, of mercy, of sacrifice,” he said.

The feature film “On Fire” is the portrayal of O’Leary’s miraculous survival from a fire in 1987 that burned 100% of his body when he was 9 years old. He was given a 1% chance of survival. In 2016, he wrote “On Fire: 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life,” on which the screenplay is based. A member of Holy Redeemer Parish in Webster Groves, O’Leary has spoken before hundreds of thousands of people in dozens of countries. Sharing elements from his personal story, he calls on people to make intentional choices to live “radically inspired” lives every day.

The movie’s filming in St. Louis began in early November and wrapped up on Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, at the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis. O’Leary and his wife, Beth, were married at the shrine 20 years ago. The actor Joel Courtney portrays O’Leary as a young adult, with John Corbett as O’Leary’s father, Dennis, and William H. Macy portraying sportscaster Jack Buck, who befriended O’Leary after the accident. Many of O’Leary’s family and friends played extras in the movie.

Someone recently asked him if he’s seen God’s presence at any single point during the filming. “I said no, because God has been in every single moment within this

movie,” O’Leary said. “It’s miraculous how this entire journey has been. This has been a wild ride.”

“On Fire” includes Catholic director Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer” and “A Wing and a Prayer”), with screenwriter Gregory Poirier, producer J. Todd Harris and executive producers Terry Schnuck and Linda Huntington. Huntington heard O’Leary speak at a conference several years ago and asked him if he had ever considered making his story into a movie.

“Others have suggested it; I’ve never considered it myself,” O’Leary told her. “She said, ‘Well, I’d like the opportunity of helping you to do that.’ Over seven years, we’ve been slowly building this thing forward.”

She invited him to a phone call with several movie producers. “He changed my life and inspired me on a whole different level,” Huntington said. Over time, O’Leary met with others who were instrumental in making the movie happen. In a meeting with McNamara, the director, O’Leary asked him: “Why do you do the work you do?”

“He paused for a moment and started crying, and he said, ‘Hollywood’s got so much garbage out there, and I try to create life-affirming programs,’” O’Leary recalled. “That was enough for me to shake his hand and move forward.”

A ‘love story’

O’Leary described the movie’s message as a “love story,” one that is evident among siblings, between parents and their children, with doctors and nurses and their patient, a radio announcer with his listeners, and a loving father with his children.

“It’s the ultimate love story when we know that the author of life is for us and works through all things — even trials and tribulations and fires — for perfect purposes,” he said. “That’s the prayer we offered when I was burned on January 17, 1987, and it’s the prayer that we still offer up today — that God can use this story for something mighty.”

O’Leary said he hopes the movie will remind people of the potential within their own lives. “Not that it’s going to always be easy, but that it’s going to be possible,” he said.

Other scenes for “On Fire” were filmed at Saint Louis University, Missouri Athletic Club, Union Station, Busch Stadium and Kiener Plaza (with the Gateway Arch in the background). Susan and Dennis O’Leary’s Town and Country home, where the fire occurred, was used to recreate John’s life-changing experience.

Billy Siems, who has known O’Leary since high school and played an extra in the movie, described his friend as an “incredible human being. I tell John all the time, even if this hadn’t happened to you, the accident, you would still be a wonderful, inspirational speaker,” said Siems, a parishioner at Holy Redeemer. “I hope that people go out and see it and will be inspired, because it’s just an incredible story.”

Carrie Gleason, a longtime friend of the O’Leary family and parishioner at St. Clement of Rome in Des Peres, recalled gathering at the hospital after the accident to pray with a group of people.

“One of the people who was there was quite angry with God for letting this happen to a little 9-year-old boy,” she recalled. “I don’t know if God gave me faith, or it was my optimistic personality, but I thought, no, God has a mission for this little boy. And here we are. We have seen it all the way through. This is just another step in this awesome journey. This movie is going to touch the hearts of so many people who are going through such difficult times and give them hope.”

A faith community launched into action the day of the accident when members of the O’Learys’ parish, St. Clement of Rome in Des Peres, gathered for a prayer service that evening at the church. His mother, Susan O’Leary, recalled the moment she saw her son in the ER after the accident. John asked her: “Am I going to die?”

She responded with a question: “Baby, do you want to die? It’s your choice, not mine.” John was incredulous and said of course he didn’t.

“Then you take the hand of God, you walk the journey, and you fight like you’ve never fought before,” she told him. “Dad and I will be with you every step of the way.”

“That was not me, that was the Holy Spirit,” she said. “Your reaction wants to be as encouraging as you can possibly be. But I knew I couldn’t be encouraging in that way. This is when the Spirit came in and put the words in my heart.”

Other moments of grace behind the scenes have included the cast and crew attending Mass at the Shrine of St. Joseph together, good weather during filming, members of the cast and crew praying for one another and a service project with FOCUS Marines Foundation, where O’Leary spoke to wounded veterans.

The movie also is the first to take advantage of a new tax credit in Missouri, which was signed into law in July. The program, called “Show Mo Act,” provides a 20% tax credit for qualifying expenses, with an opportunity to earn up to another 20% tax credit if prerequisites are met. Zip Rzeppa of Mater Media helped with some of the fundraising efforts for the film and is helping to promote it.

“On Fire” is expected to be released around Thanksgiving of 2024.