“Soul on Fire” brings the story of St. Louisan John O’Leary’s 1987 accident and recovery to the silver screen. At just 9 years old, he suffered severe burns on 90% of his body and spent a grueling 5½ months in the hospital recovering. Doctors gave him a 1% chance of surviving.
After years of rehabilitation and healing, O’Leary has shared his story to motivate thousands of people around the world. He has also written two bestselling books, one of which has now been adapted for O’Leary’s biopic “Soul on Fire.”
“Soul on Fire” is the first major film to shoot primarily in St. Louis since 2009, taking advantage of the newly reinstated “Show MO Act” tax credit for productions filmed in Missouri. O’Leary said director Sean McNamara was immediately sold on the idea of filming in the Gateway City.
“Sean came into town just to meet Beth, my wife, our kids and my parents,” O’Leary said. “He [said] ‘John, one of the main characters in your story is St. Louis. It's brilliant.’ I showed him the church where I was married, where Jack Buck is buried — all these places that are iconic. And he realized we have to film here.”
The film was shot at notable locales that are important to O’Leary’s real life story, including Busch Stadium, St. Louis University’s campus and Chaifetz Arena.
“Every single shot was filmed where the thing happened,” O’Leary said. “That alone will tell you how gripping it was to be part of it, and hopefully, as a viewer, to observe it. It's not Hollywood. It's real. It's St. Louis.”
O’Leary, a self-proclaimed introvert, never intended to become a motivational speaker, let alone to have his life story adapted to film. He said he and his wife, Beth O’Leary, are private people by nature. To O’Leary, it is the people who built him up while he was recovering the film is really about.
“It's a story of our community coming together,” he said. “We need better stories of heroes — not the kind who wear blue tights and capes, not the kind who fly spaceships, but just ordinary folks who do the right thing, and in doing so, change a life.”
O’Leary said the film fulfills his ultimate goal of letting his story be of service to others.
“I never planned to sell books or have a movie made. The plan was to be a service, and in time, I recognized the story is not about me. It's not about my scars, wounds or [the] explosion. It's about sharing vulnerable pieces of the journey so others can recognize the beauty in their stories,” O’Leary said. “If we can keep people moving forward and draw them into a conversation about hope, and a pragmatic view of optimism for their journey, I'm willing to risk putting myself out there for that.”
“Soul on Fire” premieres in theaters nationwide on Oct. 10. The film stars Joel Courtney as O’Leary, as well as actors John Corbett, Stephanie Szostack, Masey McLain, Devon Franklin and William H. Macy.
To hear more about the story of John O’Leary’s miraculous recovery, St. Louis as a character throughout “Soul on Fire” and O’Leary’s favorite moments from the film, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
