Junior lands role in ‘Soul on Fire’

Margaret Korte
Print/Podcast Editor

Sean McNamara, John O’Leary, William H. Macy, Maisy McLain, James McCracken, Stella Bratcher, Lucy Panozza, Elsie Metzger and Stephanie Szostak pose on the red carpet. Photo provided by Elsie Metzger

“Soul on Fire” is a new film that tells the life story of John O’Leary, a motivational speaker from Webster Groves.

An accident left O’Leary with burns all over his body when he was just nine years old. The film recounts his struggle in the aftermath of the accident to his rise as a motivational speaker.

The movie was filmed in different areas around St. Louis, including Webster Groves. Certain scenes were filmed at O’Leary’s original house in Town and Country.

According to junior Elsie Metzger, “The movie switches between present day and the past.”

Metzger plays O’Leary’s older sister, Katie O’Leary, in the scenes that are set in the 1980s.
Metzger’s agent notified her about the movie, and because of the local filming locations, she didn’t have to travel far to shoot.

“They told me what days I filmed, and I missed school [on those days],” Metzger said.

“Soul on Fire” was Metzger’s first film role. “I had no acting experience going into it, so it was a pretty big deal for me,” she said via email. “I got to work with some pretty famous actors like William H. Macy (Shameless) and John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding).”

Metzger said it was originally filmed two years ago, during the first semester of her freshman year, “so there was a long time to wait for it to come out.”

“My first time seeing myself on screen was the one second I appear in the trailer, but the first time I saw it in the theater and saw myself on a theater screen was at an early screening this summer,” she said via email. “I could not stop smiling seeing myself and all the people I met onscreen.”

When the film was finally released, Metzger went to the red carpet showing at Powell Symphony Hall.

“It was super good to see everyone again, and I actually got to be in the cast photo on the red carpet,” Metzger said via email.

Metzger said people should see “Soul on Fire” because it’s an “inspirational, feel-good” story “about how people can come together.”

“Everyone I’ve talked to has said they loved it and that it’s such a good story. A girl from one of my classes introduced me to her mom, and her mom recognized me from the movie, and then she couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved it,” Metzger said.

“Soul on Fire” was released to theaters on Oct. 10 and earned over $2 million at the box office in the first weekend.