William H. Macy says John O’Leary’s survival story is not a ‘miracle’

Exclusive – Some may call John O’Leary a miracle, but he is the “Soul on Fire” actor. William H. Messi He said the word downplays the young man’s unimaginable story of survival.

When O’Leary was 9 years old, his entire body was burned in an accidental house fire that started while he was in his garage playing with matches and gasoline. He wasn’t supposed to survive, but after months of exhausting recovery — and with the help of family, compassionate medical staff, and a famous friend — he not only lived, but continues to thrive.

The local celebrity who befriended him was the late, legendary Jack Buck St. Louis Cardinals The broadcaster who called games for 47 years. Buck heard O’Leary’s story one night at a dinner party and decided to visit him in the hospital—an encounter that sparked a friendship that would change his life.

Messi films Pak in New movie From O’Leary’s story “Soul on Fire” from AFFIRM Films and director Sean McNamara. He was frank when asked if he thought O’Leary’s survival was a miracle.

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“No, I don’t need miracles,” Messi said. Fox News Digital After a few moments of contemplation. “I’m inserting a needle here. I find the world to be a miracle in itself. I don’t need anything supernatural. I find the world to be a miracle, the way it works. And I find that humans are a miracle sometimes. I mean…this kid wasn’t supposed to live. Over 95% of his body was burned. He shouldn’t have survived the night.”

“When Jack Buck heard about this kid at the dinner party and went over there and whispered in his ear, he was in an induced coma,” Macy said. “And he whispered in his ear in his familiar voice that this kid knew somewhere in his brain, ‘You will live. You will succeed. “I guess I don’t think of it as a miracle as much as I think it instilled faith in him.”

He added: “There’s a quote, and I thought it was in Ecclesiastes, and I can’t find it. But the definition of faith that I really liked is that what’s coming, and all the adversity that’s coming your way, you already have what you need to maneuver it, get through it. You already have it. It’s within you.”

Macy suggested that the word “miracle” is used somewhat “cheaply” these days because it downplays the efforts of O’Leary’s caretakers. In one specific scene in “Soul on Fire,” a hospital worker is credited with saving O’Leary’s life by keeping his hospital room clean and preventing the risk of infection of O’Leary’s vulnerable skin.

“And…so I think what the movie says is really cool, if I may,” Messi said. “That this kid had the will to survive this thing. I think it was a stroke of genius including, and it’s a true story, that the hero of this thing was the guy, the organizer, who kept the room clean, who kept it clean. Because, as they say in the movie, ‘This is what’s going to kill you.’ When you burn over 90 percent of your body, you’re just a terrible infection waiting to happen and take your life. So he’s the hero and I, I don’t want to use that word.” -A miracle- because I think we use it a bit cheaply these days.”

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O’Leary now gives motivational speeches across the country, hoping to uplift and inspire with his incredible story. Messi described him as one of the most “exceptional” people he had ever met.

“Well, he is certainly, if not the most extraordinary man I have ever met, then one of them,” Messi said. “What you see is what you get. It’s real. He came out of that whole experience with this desire to live, and he loves life, and he loves his life. And he enjoys every day… The guy always seems to have a great time, and he lives with such gratitude. He always finds the good in his day, and he’s as generous with everyone as you’ve ever seen.”

“I mean, what summed it up for me was that we were talking about publicity,” the actor continued. “‘How are we going to sell this thing?’ And John spoke very early on, and said, ‘Whoa, whoa, this movie isn’t about me.’ This movie is about the community that stepped up, and with the accumulation of their will and their love and their experience, they got this kid through it. And that’s what the movie is about.”

Messi also remembers meeting Joe Buck, who followed his father into sports broadcasting. Joe told Macy that while Jack Buck was often away at home, he quietly helped countless people behind the scenes.

“He told me, whether it was long or short, that his father was not warm and fuzzy at home,” Messi said. “He was a fairly distant father. And he knew that he was loved by his father and he knew that his father was really proud of him. But he worked a lot. He was out of the house a lot, he was absent a lot and when he was there, he was there… I didn’t ask him if he hugged, if he was hugged as a child, but I filled in that blank myself – that he wasn’t expressive. And ever since this movie went into production, people have come out of the woodwork to say Jack Buck Stories.”

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“He used his bully pulpit,” Messi continued. “He used his resources to very quietly show up in a lot of different places and help people anonymously. The stories abound. And I find that endlessly fascinating. And it was in my mind when I was putting this whole thing together, that it was easier for Jack to show love to almost complete strangers than to his closest friends. And I’ve known people like that. And maybe there’s a lot of that in me.”

When asked why audiences flock to faith-based films these days, Macy said it’s because that’s what people want, before considering how Hollywood culture has changed over the years.

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“I think faith-based films tell the stories they want to hear,” he said. “You know, there’s been a complete shift in Hollywood, and I’m very proud to be part of the Hollywood scene, to be an actor and to be in the entertainment industry. About 10 or 15 years ago, Hollywood woke up one day and said, ‘Our movies don’t look like America and the people who make the movies don’t look like America.’ If we want this industry to continue to grow, we have to fix this, and they did. It happened very quickly. “I’ve never seen an industry change so quickly.”

“Soul on Fire” is in theaters now.

Fox News’ Kristin Parks contributed to this report.