ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The daughter of a Baptist minister in southeastern Georgia, Masey McLain isn’t a typical Hollywood star — and she isn’t afraid to bring her Christian convictions to the sets of her movies, either.
“God’s kingdom is absolutely everywhere,” McLain told CBN News at the red carpet premiere of her newest film, “Soul on Fire,” debuting in theaters nationwide Friday. “We house the Holy Spirit — bring that in a set, bring that to a film, bring that to a story.”
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The new movie, a Sony Pictures project, is a biopic chronicling the miraculous life story of St. Louis native John O’Leary, who, at just 9 years old, sustained severe burns over 100% of his body from an accidental explosion in his childhood home. As a result, he was given a 1% chance of survival.
In the movie, the 31-year-old McLain plays O’Leary’s wife, Beth.
“One of my favorite things in Scripture is when it talks about co-laboring with God, and that it’s not like we ask God to do everything and then we just let Him do it or we do it all ourselves,” she said, referencing 1 Corinthians 3:9. “We co-labor with Him, and I feel that when I’m on set. I feel like I’m not doing it by myself, I’m not doing it through my own power.”
McLain, who came to faith in Jesus at a revival event when she was 7 years old, said she was first inspired to work in movies because God “lives in me and He empowers me and we’re doing it together.”
“That does something that no man can do on their own,” she said at the St. Louis premiere. “When you partner with the Holy Spirit, that is what has the power to transform lives — not people.”
O’Leary, for his part, told CBN News that his life story, which he spoke about in great detail on the “Faith in Culture” Podcast, is primarily one of Gospel transformation, not just a miraculous physical recovery.
Speaking about himself, O’Leary said the most difficult part of his transformation was not surviving a seemingly unsurvivable fire, but overcoming a sinking feeling of unworthiness.
“The only place worthiness came from was not my work or my effort or my success, but God’s grace,” he said. “You’re going to witness this all over this kid’s life as he progresses from being burned to dealing with scars, but you’re going to see God’s hands showing up in ordinary people, ordinary heroes. This is where the Gospel’s lived out.”
O’Leary, now a renowned author and motivational speaker, credits God for his stunning physical recovery, too.
“It’s not a matter of courage or tenacity or self-imposed will,” he said of how he miraculously recovered from what was a near-certain death sentence. “This is God’s hand. This is a miracle story.”
It was the prayers of so many across the country, he added, that carried him through.
Having a front-row seat to O’Leary’s powerful testimony has deepened McLain’s belief that “nothing is impossible with God” and reinforced her faith in “the power of prayer,” she told CBN News.
“I think sometimes … when I say I’m going to pray for somebody, or [say], ‘All I can do is pray,’ that makes it sound like it’s the least important thing I can do and [is] not significant,” she said. “But actually, it is the most significant and most important and most effective thing you can do, because God is a God of miracles. I think John’s life is a testament of that.”
McLain isn’t alone in speaking boldly about her faith, either. Her co-star, Joel Courtney, who plays O’Leary in the new movie, is also open about his Christian beliefs.
Courtney became a household name to many believers after starring in the hit movie, “Jesus Revolution,” a 2023 film telling the story of the Jesus movement of the 1970s.
The 29-year-old star described both “Jesus Revolution” and “Soul on Fire” as “two highlights of my lifetime.”
“As a Christian, I love telling my faith, I love telling [of] my Lord, my Savior,” he said. “These really hold a high and elevated position in my heart, these films specifically do, because they are faith-related.”
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