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September 25, 2025 64 mins

A story of love, loss, and the heroes who hold us up. Experience Soul on Fire here → https://soulonfiremovie.com

This week on Relentless Hope, John O’Leary shares how God turned childhood scars into a life of purpose and hope. He’s joined by actress Macy McClain—who portrays Beth O’Leary in the upcoming film Soul on Fire—for a heartfelt conversation about faith, family, and saying “yes” to God’s call. Be inspired to embrace your own story, trust God in the wilderness, and let Him turn brokenness into bold purpose.

Learn to love your life, lead with purpose and leave a legacy of helping others with Relentless Hope. The Relentless Hope Podcast gives hope a voice by sharing stories from the world’s most passionate leaders.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello, my friends. My name is John O'Leary, and
when I was nine years old, I was burned on
one hundred percent of my body. Eighty seven percent of
those burns were third degree. Given no chance of survival,
I decided that first day in hospital, and then each
day afterwards for five and a half months, to take
the hand of God, to walk the journey with him,

(00:21):
and to fight like I never fought before. It did
not make the journey easy, what would. But I think
that decision as a kid made the journey possible. And
yet when I came home, my goal in life was
not to stand out and shine reflect his mercies. My
goal was to fade. So that's what I did. For
decades after being burned. I covered up the scars. I

(00:44):
hid from the struggle. I'm turned toward addictive behavior. And
when my life truly was transformed was not at age nine.
It was at age twenty eight, in a church service
in the back row, arms crossed, looking down when the
pastor said, and for those of you who feel as
if God has blessed you with no talent, not five,

(01:04):
not two, not even one, but none, listen to me.
Your life is a precious gift, you got one job,
say yes to be a niece for good.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
I wrote that down. In the following day, I was
invited by a group of Girl Scouts to speak it
to truth. I never told anybody how I was burned.
I never showed anybody my scars, But on that day,
on the heels of that message, I said yes.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
That yes has led to twenty seven hundred additional speeches
around the world, It has led to two bestselling books,
and now it leads to a fourthcoming major motion film
released by Sonia.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Firm October tenth, called Soul on Fire. The best thing
about this film is it's not about a kid who
got burned who figured out, ultimately by the end of it,
how God was using his story. Now, this is a
film ultimately about heroes. It's a film about love. It's
a film about family and faith and what can happen
when we recognize God used all all people and all

(02:01):
experiences for his perfect purposes. My friends, I hope you
will join me October tenth and afterwards in theaters around
the country to take in, be inspired by and transformed
through the film Soul on Fire.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
Welcome to the Live Inspired Podcast with John O'Leary. John
is the two time national best selling author of On
Fire and In Awe. He's a world class inspirational speaker,
the host of the Live Inspired podcast, and he's the
real life inspiration behind the major motion picture Soul on Fire.
Each week, John interviews extraordinary individuals about their life stories

(02:39):
so you can more fully live your life story. Here's
your host, John O'Leary.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
So, over the eight years it took to bring our
film Soul on Fire to life, the question I was
most frequently asked by friends and fellow producers was John,
who do you want to play you? But it wasn't
the actor portraying me that I cared most about. It
Also wasn't the actor who portrayed Hall of Fame announcer

(03:06):
Jack Buck, who changed my life ultimately, played by William H. Macy,
that I cared most about. It wasn't the amazing nurse
who taught me how to walk again eventually played by
Devon Franklin. It wasn't the remarkable mother who taught me
how to live again, played by Stephanie Shostak. And it
wasn't the heroic dad who taught me about grace and
mercy and Unconditional Love played by John Corbett. Nope, the

(03:31):
person that I cared most about getting just right and
casp just right was the person who ultimately would play
my wife Beth. Here's what I knew about that person.
That person had to be incredibly beautiful and uncommonly humble.
That person had to be serious and absolutely hilarious. That

(03:53):
person had to be brilliant and driven and free spirited,
always up for the next adventure. She had to be
committed in her faith and accepting of others, regardless of
where they were in theirs. And she had to exemplify
love and in doing so positively change the lives of
those she encountered. Well. Our guest today might have been

(04:14):
the very last actor we hired for Soul on Fire.
She's the woman who portrays Beth O Leary and the
Soul on Fire. And her name is Mace McLain, and
she is not only an incredibly talented actor, she's one
of my dearest friends. So I welcome my friend to
my friends. Her name is Macy McClain. Macy portrayer of

(04:36):
Beth O Leary and Soul on Fire. Welcome to Live Inspired.

Speaker 5 (04:39):
Thank you. I can't believe you're here, You're in my town,
like you flew across the country to come to my
little town to sit here and have a conversation with me,
And that blows my mind.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Well, I told you, and I might as well just
tell our friends, like you know, why keep secrets? Before
going out to see Bill Macy and Corbett and Courtney
and all the other leaders, I had some anxiety about
the interview. And on the flight today and on the
drive about an hour from the airport, there was zero anxiety.
I was excited, not for the podcast interview, sorry listeners
and viewers. I was excited for my friend. So I'm

(05:13):
looking forward to this so to tell first of all
our listeners and viewers where we are.

Speaker 5 (05:17):
We are in Hogansville, Georgia. It is a tiny little
town that me and my husband settled in and you know,
the best community, you know. With my work, I travel
all over the country like you do, and film in
different cities and states. But to have somewhere you call home,
with people you love and neighbors you call family, I mean,

(05:38):
it's something I never predicted for my life, never wanted
for my life, but couldn't imagine not having like anywhere in.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
The world, this is home when you meet someone in
your new home. I'm always fascinated by this. You have
so many job titles. So when they say your name's Macy, Macy,
what do you do when they ask you that? How
do you respond?

Speaker 5 (05:58):
I feel like I'm like, I don't know. No, I'm
an actor, and that's always kind of been my first love.
I love when it comes to my profession and entertainment.
I love stepping into other people's shoes and telling their
stories right, and like living out that what it is
to be human and the redemption that comes with being human,

(06:22):
and to get to show that to people in audiences
and audiences see themselves in characters and then God uses
that to change people's lives is just always been so
close to my heart and blows my mind. But I
love doing that. I also now screenwrite, so I write movies,
I write TV shows, and I'm a producer now so
kind of have a hand in all of it. And

(06:43):
I do travel around the country and speak at youth
conferences and women's conferences, and yeah, I wear a lot
of hats.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
I guess when you're not working, because everything you said
there is mission driven and purpose led, but work. When
you're not working, what do you like to do?

Speaker 5 (06:58):
Ooh, I love to cook. I love I think at
the end of the day, cooking is my favorite think.
And I say this because I think with all that
I do, it's a lot of loose sins a lot
of times, like I mean, you've you've gone through, you know,
making a movie, and it's always just kind of like
when is it going to be done? Right? Like it's
like the longest bursting process ever. So to come home,

(07:19):
like to be creative all day, but it not to
be start and finish, but to come home and then
to get to cook a meal and start it and
it be a creative process, but it end and you
get to like experience it and enjoy it. For some reason,
that just is very satisfying to me, because as a
creative you just a lot of things are up in
the air totally. So I love cooking. I love just

(07:42):
I love being with my people, like hanging out with
my family, going to an amazing dinner with my friends
and sitting there for hours, and that's like, that's that's
home to me.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
Yeah, So we're gonna leave that version of home and
go back a little bit farther, a couple of years back,
a couple of decades back. Let's start by first talking
to your dad. I know what he did professionally, I
know sort of what he's shaped personally, but I'd like
to hear about his character. What was it about your
dad that, looking back on it, you celebrate most about him?

Speaker 5 (08:11):
Oh? Man, my dad. He's always been a hero to me.
And I think one of my favorite things that I've
always seen in my dad, and man that's just impacted
my life so much, is that he has always been
unwavering in his stance on truth, and it's out of
love of he He never wavers because he wants people

(08:33):
to see the truth and he wants people to come
to the truth. And he's just kind of beenmovable in
that because of his love for the Lord and his
love for people. And I've seen him, I've seen him
walk through that and it cost him greatly and never
waver well because of how much he loves God. And

(08:54):
I think I've always looked at bad as courage and true,
you know, taking like scre says, to pick up your cross,
you know, and to actually live out your faith even
when it's not popular or even when it's not exciting
or cool, it's just living it out, and I think
he's in. That's how he's impacted my life in a
big way.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
Your mom, I know, is an excellent dancer, but she's
also not an excellent mother. Talk about your mom.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
Oh my goodness, So I get my free spirit sell
from my mom. My mom is like, oh my goodness.
She's just always wearing something flowy, you know, like she
just lights up a room when she walks in. She's
so creative. She hates small talks, which is one of
my favorite things about her. Like she'll say this like
she hates it's like so awkward for her. She's like,
I don't like she would love you because you just

(09:41):
you just pierce through all of that and you get
to the heart of people. But my mom loves a
good deep conversation. Everywhere we go, she witnesses to people.
She is sharing the love of God with people literally everywhere.
A grocery story. It used to mirror like uster I'd
be like, Mom, can we just eat at this restaurant
without saying stuff? Now? My assistant flash best friend is

(10:03):
exactly like my mom and does that everywhere we go.
Her name is Jess and we'll be at a restaurant
and she's like witnessing to everybody, and I'm like, I
love it. But it's just so cool because it's their gift,
like they're an exhorterer. But I've always seen that in
my mom and just she just loves people so much
and wants them to know that they're loved by God.
And I love that about her.

Speaker 1 (10:24):
So I'm one of six. I believe you're one of four.
What was it like growing up in this tangled web
of six human beings pretty close in age, you guys were, Yes,
I mean, I.

Speaker 5 (10:35):
Think one of my favorite things is we're all best friends.
Like to this day, we call each other all the time,
like we are each other's best friends. And we've always
been close. My sister has always been my just absolute,
like best friend in the whole world. But it was
crazy because we were a preacher's family and you know,
we didn't have so like going out to eat was
a massive deal. Like we went out to eat like

(10:56):
once or twice a year, and it was like the
biggest thing ever. But we never at least I think
maybe we all have different experiences, but I never felt that,
like I never felt like we didn't have a lot.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
Did you feel like eyes were watching you when you
went in restaurants and.

Speaker 5 (11:09):
Grocery stores because we were the preacher's family because of that, Yeah, yeah,
for sure. I mean I think sometimes, yeah, there was
this and my parents would even say, there was this
time of like almost getting caught up in that at
times of the appearance you have to put on and
that's just not that's not what God asks of us. Right.
We're all broken people and none of us are polished,

(11:30):
you know. So I think even my parents will look
back and say, hey, that time of our lives when
we tried to put on a front that's not good.
Like we came out of that. We're all just in
this together. If we're all broken people that need thelow
of God.

Speaker 1 (11:42):
What were you into before you got into acting, before
you've discerned sports?

Speaker 5 (11:47):
Oh, I was a runner. So I was actually fun
fact that I don't think hardly anyone knows. I was
like a really intense runner. They were prepping me to
train for the Olympics. It's funny. When I was little,
I was legged, like severely bow legged. The doctor was like,
She's going to be a really fast runner like anyway,
So I became a fast runner. But it's interesting. I

(12:08):
hated the pressure, the competition of trying to win a race.
I don't know why, but I hated it. And it's
funny because everything I do is like I'm having to
compete to get a role, right, I'm having to always
be in front of a camera. I'm having to always
be in front of people. And that doesn't bother me.
But for some reason, I never wanted to continue on
towards trying to be a runner. I think God just

(12:29):
redirected my path. But it was something I love. I
loved I played basketball. I love basketball, Big Kitlyn Clark
fan over here. If there's anyone that I can play again,
that's just true character Kaitlyn Clark, Hello in fact and yeah,
and I always cooking. I would get cookbooks for Christmas

(12:49):
and I would cook at night for my family.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
You struggle under the pressure, but then you get into theater. Yeah,
that doesn't seem to go And that's funny.

Speaker 5 (12:58):
Like I loved it, like I felt like I came
alive disappearing into these other characters. And I've loved that
about beyond set, like I can be on a set
and if I'm about to do a heavy scene, I
will go off into the corner, just a sitting right here.
She's seen me do this and like just start crying
and don't I don't care that ten people are watching
me and being like what is wrong with her? And
I'm just like, I'm in my own world. But there's

(13:20):
something about disappearing into these characters that just I don't
know what makes me. I'm alive. I love it.

Speaker 1 (13:25):
Fifteen years of age, you shift from live theater into
in front of a camera, yes, which you know, my
work primarily puts me on stages. And I love that
it's won and done and you give it everything you've
got and you are done for the day. Yeah, you
went into a very different lighte and you chose it.
What do you like better about.

Speaker 5 (13:45):
It then theater?

Speaker 2 (13:47):
Right?

Speaker 5 (13:47):
I love? Man, I think I love the realness of it.
Like theater, I never felt like I was that great
at because I feel like it has to be big
and it has to be like my mom was a
musical theater like junkie, Like, oh my goodness, she was
so talented. But I felt like camera is just like
it has to be so raw and so real. And
you can't lie like what that camera picks up on everything,

(14:10):
so you have to be telling the truth. On stage.
You can fake it like to a certain extent, you know,
because the camera's not right here. It's more of an
audience set back watching you. But I think I just
love telling the truth of it.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
So many questions around that. We'll still save it a
little bit until we move into your professional journey. So
at fifteen you get your first big break. Talk about
that commercial.

Speaker 5 (14:33):
Man, You've done your research.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
Come on, dude, this is so impressive.

Speaker 5 (14:38):
Okay, So the Jonas Brothers, this is my first big
thing I booked. I was freaking out because I didn't
know that it was gonna be the Jonah's brothers. I
just booked this commercial and they were like, all right,
we're gonna get your reactions when these people walk in
and I'm fifteen and it's the freaking Jonas brothers poking,
and I'm like, oh my gosh, Nick is gonna fall
in love with me. I just know it, Like Caleb,

(15:01):
I didn't know my haughty husband was out there, but
you know, fifteen year old self freaking out. But so
it was funny because it was a karaoke commercial and
they were like, all right, the Jonah's brothers are standing
right here. Who wants to sing for them? No one
volunteered out of all the actors, And I was like
I do. I was like, are you kidding me? This
is a once in a lifetime chance. I might sound terrible,

(15:22):
but I'm going to sing for I'm going to sing
burning up for him. So I did, and it was amazing.
It was an amazing experience and it's just fine. I was like,
I think that little moment even taught me, like take
the opportunity, like don't let those little things slip by, Like, man,
you just miss life if you don't. And who cares
if you follow your face?

Speaker 1 (15:40):
So we'll bring you into Saint Louis in like ten minutes.
But we're not quite there. I noticed though, when you
were in town. Every single thing I invited you to
do with us, the answer was yes. And the Jonas
thing the answer was yes. And the opportunity of singing
and the answer was yes. Is that how you were raised?
Is it something you became over time? Like talk about that?

Speaker 5 (16:01):
Yes, I don't know, I don't know. I don't remember
that ever, being like a like a mantra in our
home or anything. But I think, honestly, just maybe experiences
just taught me that of like I don't know, I
think just looking around and being like, man, if I
do pass on this, like make life fun, make more interesting,
like you get to like what conversations would I miss

(16:22):
out if I said no, Like when we all went
to dinner. It's like those memories would never be made.
And I mean I left telling stories, so like I
love making stories with my life. Right.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Television's hard, yeah, forevery Jonas brothers. You get an opportunity
of doing there's forty four you.

Speaker 5 (16:39):
Don't oh more than right?

Speaker 1 (16:42):
I mean that's so many times laying your heart in
front of a dead camera that doesn't give you any
feedback whatsoever, and then having someone say to you, good job,
we'll call you back.

Speaker 5 (16:53):
Yeah, oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
What keeps you going before you get your legs under you?
Like after all this, to be rejected a second time,
a fit time, a tenth time, a twenty ae time,
a thirtieth time, and you keep on showing up.

Speaker 5 (17:05):
I think you have to be a little crazy. Yeah,
I think you have to be a little you know.
I mean, I'm just seeing honest, like it's it's a
little maddening. But I mean I've wanted to quit a
hundred times, and I have had very pivotal moments in
my life where God made it so unbelievably clear that
I was not supposed to do, like in very drastic ways,

(17:27):
and then after that something would happen or a door
would open. Right. But I also think once you do it,
it's like addicting, like I don't want to do anything else.
Like when I think about if I was to go
sit in a cubicle and work at a job like
some people love that that makes the world go round,
that would kill my soul, like truly, Like I actually
tried it one time and I was like, oh my,

(17:48):
if this is life, Like, oh no, I got to
go find something. I gotta find something else. So I
think you're just like if you love it, you love it.
And I tell people all the time with film, I'm like,
you're either gonna I mean, you experienced it, You're gonna
love it or hate it. Like I brought one of
my friends to set and she was like, this is
your job all day long. You've been standing here for
twelve hours. And I was like I told you it's

(18:10):
not the red carpets everyone sees like, but I love it.
I come alive, so it doesn't drain me.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
Let's talk about one of the God moments. You referred
to it as a Gideon type experience.

Speaker 5 (18:21):
How do you remember all of this, all of your
whole work.

Speaker 1 (18:24):
So, first of all, some of our listeners have no
clue who Gideon is. You may need to give us
a quick update on that and then tell us what
it meant for you to have this getting experience as
you're going through your acting journey.

Speaker 5 (18:36):
Yeah. So Gideon, God gave him like a very clear
instruction in scripture, and he was like he very much
doubted it. And he doubted it because he was like,
who am I to do this? You know, why would I?
How in the world am I going to do what
God seng me to do? And he asked, God, you know,
if this is really you, I'm going to lay out
this police and with the do like make it wet

(18:57):
in the morning if this is you. And God did it,
and he did it a second time and all the things. So,
but God kept confirming to Gideon like this is me speaking.
I was going through a Bible study on Gideon at
that time in my life, and I was just like
at the point where I wanted to quit acting. I
was so over it. I was getting and when I

(19:18):
say I was getting so close to major roles, I
was number two for like some pretty pivotal things and
that would have changed my life and changed my career.
And I was just like, I'm so done with this,
Like I feel teased, like why did God call me
this career if he's not going to give it to me,
you know. And so I was like, you know what,
I'm going to lay out my fleece and Lord, if
you want me to stay in this business, make it

(19:40):
so clear, and if not, I'm out. And I do
want to preface this because I don't like to encourage
people to like go test God, because I think script
Dravan says like, you know, don't test the lords or God,
you know. But I also think something so that I'm
learning more and more about God is how patient and
kind he is to me and all of us, Like

(20:01):
He's not some God that's looking down and saying figure
it out if you do this wrong. I'm gonna do this,
and I'm gonna like, if you don't figure out. This's
may as I've put you in, you're gonna get in trouble.
Like that's not God. I think he's such a loving father.
He's a friend, he's a savior. He's with me and
he loves for me to work out my salvation with him.

(20:23):
So I think in his kindness he met me in
that moment, and even though I was testing him, he
was so kind to me. And I was like, Okay, God,
I'm gonna go to this audition and if this casting
director says to me to stay in the business, I
will stay. And if he doesn't, I'm out. This is
my last thing ever. And the thing about casting directors

(20:45):
is casting directors never never ever say anything to you.
It's Lala Anne. Have you seen Lalaland they're like, you know,
great job, sometimes a great job, sometimes nothing. Anyways, So
I did my little Papa John's come first of all,
my fleece the top of John's commercial, like this is
how hellos are wise. So I did my little thing

(21:08):
and I was and he didn't say anything, and so
I was like okay, and in my mind I was like,
here we go. Side note. I also brought two friends
to the audition who sat outside the door to listen
because I was like, if he says something, I don't
want to make it up in my brain or second
guess myself. I need you guys to hear. So this
room of auditioning is filled with all these girls that
look just like me, because we all look the same

(21:30):
going into for the same role. And then there's my
two friends, and the casting dructor was like, why your
friends like to worry about It's fine shit, my fleece
like nobil. Anyways, I put my hand on the door
handle to leave and he says, MACI wait, and I
was like, excuse me, and he was like, don't quit.
This is gonna be a really great year for you.

(21:51):
Don't quit. And I was just floored because again God
in his kindness and just entered that room and spoke
through this person who I don't even know if they
know God, but it was so amazing. And I walked
out the door in my friend's eyes were literally like
three times a size and we're all like the fleece,

(22:13):
you know, God answered my prayer. And these girls are
staring at us like what the heck is wrong with
these people?

Speaker 1 (22:19):
You know?

Speaker 5 (22:19):
And we're just numping up and down. But yeah, after that,
I ended up a process of auditioning for the lead
role and I'm Not Ashamed, which was a movie that
changed my life and I can't believe I got to
be a part of so God kept me in it.

Speaker 1 (22:33):
That's such a good story, Yeah, all of it, and
it's leading you into this important role. Talk about who
Rachel is, Oh my goodness.

Speaker 5 (22:42):
So Rachel was truly a normal kid. That's my favorite
thing about it was. There was nothing magical, special like
about her. She was a normal girl that decided to
live her life for Jesus, and she decided to set
soul them fire like, not to bring back to that,
but and she loved people. She loved people so hard,

(23:04):
and the person that was in front of her she
loved and that shame reaction just spread throughout her school,
and then when she died, spread throughout the nation and
spread throughout the world. So I think my favorite thing
to tell people about Rachel is that, like, you can
be Rachel, it doesn't. She wasn't just some magical person. Yes,
that's how we're all called to live. A seventeen year

(23:26):
old girl that changed the world.

Speaker 1 (23:27):
Where'd she go to high school?

Speaker 5 (23:29):
Columbine High School. Think it was very pivotal part of
the story. She owed into Columbine High School and which
was the second mass shooting in the United States, so
it was really the first to get like national attention
like that. But she died when the gunman held a
gun up to her head and said do you believe
in God? And she said yes, and then they killed her.
And we know that because she had a friend sitting

(23:49):
with her and he's still alive today. So he tells
the story of how she died.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
It's so heavy and if it's fiction, it's intense, and
it's real life. It's transformational. There's a mother involved here
and you're portraying her little girl. There's a brother involved here,
there's a dad. There is a friend who watched it
happen her it go down, heard the gunshot and then
the Minigan gunshots that followed, and at the center of

(24:16):
this universe. Now is a camera crew re portraying this
and you're Rachel, what's it like to take on that weight?

Speaker 4 (24:24):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (24:24):
My word, it was daunting. It was a miracle. I
got that role. Actually, I auditioned for that role for
about a year and they actually casted somebody else, but
I heard so specifically from the Lord in my heart
one morning that he would fight for me and that
I would get this role. The only person I told
was my mom, and I was like, I don't know
how because someone else has already been cast. I don't know.

(24:46):
And then a few weeks later I got a call
and one of the executive producers was like, you know,
I called everything off. You're the girl. There's no doubt
the reason I was able to do that role was
because I could look back and see there was actually
nothing I did to get it. Like I did my best,
and I've trained and I worked hard, but at the
end of the day, I did not get myself that role.

(25:07):
God did. So if God gave me that role, I
had to go into it with the confidence that it
was from him, then he would give me everything I
needed to do it. And he did. Oh my gosh,
Like I had so many insane experiences on set where
I would I remember when he filmed the shooting scene.
I have never and it makes me own cry thinking
about it, but I haven't. I haven't told this in

(25:29):
a long time. I have never felt the tangible love
of God like I did in that moment filming the
shooting scene, and it was like I felt God's nearness
and it was I mean, I know God is with
us at all times, but there are certain times where
you feel his presence even thicker. And I was like

(25:49):
in a bubble that whole day and I was like,
oh my goodness, the love of God, Like he was
so near to her in that moment and he had
her like she wasn't scared. I don't think so. Yeah. Wow,
I haven't talked to her that long time.

Speaker 1 (26:00):
You after you were told well, first of all, feedback
from the film, Yeah, what have been some of the
responses from young folks and teachers and community members who
watched the film incredible.

Speaker 5 (26:12):
I mean our prayer going into it was that we
prayed that people would go see that film or click
on it with streaming and not even know why. So
I had messages and producers had messages. There was like
like one in particular it sticks out, was like a
firefighter that was like just like not the typical person
that would go click on this movie, like you see
me on the cover. It's like a girl, you.

Speaker 1 (26:34):
Know, like you're nine years old. I think at that
time you were so useful looking.

Speaker 5 (26:38):
Oh no, I'm old get it right?

Speaker 1 (26:41):
She placed in your citizens the Mary John Olderry's She's
really gone downhill yet?

Speaker 5 (26:46):
Can't Oh my god, show somebody. But yeah, he like
sent in a message and he was like, I don't
know why, but I clicked on this movie and I
am weeping on my floor and my life has forever changed.

Speaker 3 (26:57):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (26:57):
So we had countless messages like that of people being like,
I don't know why I went to this year, but
I did. In my life, I'll never be the same.
So the feedback was it was cool because I think
it did. It's a movie that forever. The thing about
movies and especially Soul on Fire is going to be
the same thing they live forever, Like you never know

(27:19):
who's going to turn it on in their living room
and who's going to be weeping on their floor in
whose life and community and church and world and school
and workplace is going to be completely altered because of
a story you got to tell. So that's kind of
how that film is continuing to live.

Speaker 1 (27:35):
I still get messages, Yeah, it's still awesome, it's still relevant.
You did an incredible job. And I know Rachel's family now,
I know how proud they are of the way you
portrayed her.

Speaker 5 (27:44):
Thank you. Yeah, they're amazing.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
You were told as production was going forward, as they
ultimately rolled this thing out, to get ready for it,
and what they were getting you ready for is how
you were going to leap forward. Yeah, it was going
to change your life.

Speaker 5 (27:57):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (27:58):
And they were sort of right, but the way they anticipated.

Speaker 5 (28:01):
One hundred percent talk about that, Yeah, so that was
that was a little disorienting. I had so many people
tell me you're gonna blow up afterling, this is going
to your career is going to just skyrocket. There was
one person that pulled me aside. Her name is Meredith Andrews.
She's a contemporary Christian singer and she man, we were

(28:23):
having lunch and she stopped and she's like, Macey, I
don't know why, I feel like I need to tell
you this, but if things don't happen like everyone's saying,
you're okay, Like God God's doing something unexpected and it's
not going to look like what everyone's saying. And I
was a little like, you know, no one wants to
hear that. You want to hear that you're going to
take off. You've worked, Yeah, you worked so hard and

(28:45):
you're like, man, I want to hear. But when she
said it, it was like something in my spirit knew
she was right. And when the film released, I mean,
it's it's still had an incredible impact, but things of
the distribution it was, it just wanted to different direction
and it didn't blow up the way they wanted it to,

(29:07):
didn't get I think, the distribution that they wanted it to,
so it was kind of a slow burn. And after
that my career did not take off. I got great reviews,
but no one was calling me to play the next
big role, you know. And but what did take off
was I got to speak all over the country at
youth groups and women's events and girls' events, and speaking

(29:30):
was something I never ever ever dreamed of that I
would do, but that's what came out of it. That's
what God did. And so that was like years of
honing that in and getting to share the message of
that movie and what God had been doing in my heart.
And then that led into different film stuff. But there
was about a four year gap where I was just

(29:51):
kind of like in no man's land film wise, and
I was like, am I ever going to act again?
Like at least something take off, you know. So it
was hard. Oh my word, it was hard. It felt
like a wilderness, and I was so confused. But I
also knew God was doing something, and I knew the
speaking was the routo I was supposed to go at
that time.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
It's impossible to imagine the future different than the present
we're currently living had it taken off. Do you see
now more clearly how that could have been negative in
your life?

Speaker 5 (30:21):
Yeah, I mean I do think I never would have
realized how much I love communicating at these youth groups
and at these conferences. I never would have realized I
loved teaching. Like all those things that God honed in
in that season of my life never would have happened.
I would have just gone film to film to film
different And so now it's kind of ingrained in what

(30:43):
I do and can goes alongside my film work. Yeah,
there's a season for everything, right, Like Ecclesiastes says that, like,
there really is a season for everything. It's just not
the seasons we want, but they're what we need.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
Here you are speaking and rioting and speaking the youth groups,
and you decide, you know what it's It's time to
go all in, I'm moving out to La. Yeah, why
make that decision?

Speaker 5 (31:07):
Oh my goodness, Well, I think I was really kind
of I went through like a pretty horrific breakup so
that I was just like cutting things off in my
life that didn't need to be there anymore. And I've
truly felt a massive shift, like God was saying, Okay,
now you're about a step into something new. And every

(31:28):
other time I tried to move out to La just
door shut and shut and shut and shut. And it
would have been about four years, I think. Since I'm
not ashamed, We've filmed and on set there was a
girl named Taylor Kalupa, and she played one of the
frenemies like little mean girls, but kind of became a friend.
And we actually didn't get that close on set because

(31:49):
I had to be so focused on my role. I
was playing that when everybody went out for dinner, I
would need to go home and read my script, you know,
and get ready for the next day. That during film,
she told me she was like, listen, if you ever
moved out to LA, you can live with me. And
I was like, I remember the time. I was like, man,
I so like, who says that like she you barely

(32:09):
know me, like what and but it was just so
generous and I really believe, like it was just like
I don't know, I really believe God let her to
say it. I don't know. And so I called her
up out of nowhere and I was like, hey, it's Macy.
Can I come live with you?

Speaker 1 (32:26):
Mason mc yes, four years ago?

Speaker 5 (32:28):
Four years ago? Yeah, yeah, we did a film movie.
We're great. We had dinner like once in between there.
But yeah, I said can I come live with you?
And her immediate answer was yes, she said absolutely. So
I moved out there. We shared a tiny little room,
we shared a closet, we shared a bathroom, we shared
everything like anything you can imagine in La, because La

(32:48):
is not you know, there's no room, like it's very small.
But we were on the water was beautiful, and we
became really close. Like we're so opposite, like our personalities,
if you knew us, we are the most opposite people,
but our core is the same, like our hearts are
the same. I think, I don't think, I know, like
it's like a kindred spirit, you know. So we lived

(33:10):
together and I moved out to LA and I booked
a TV show pretty quickly, and it was a TV
show based on a book series that I fell in
love with in high school. So when I found out
they were doing a TV show, I called my manager
and I was like, I have to do this, and
I booked it.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
I think most of us know the name of it,
but why don't you brag on it for a moment.

Speaker 5 (33:28):
It's The Baxters. It's written by Caryen Kingsbury, and my favorite,
all time favorite character was Ashley Baxter. And I got
to player, which was crazy.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
So before you fly out there, you're doing basically one
final speaking event. Yeah, just get get this thing out
of your empty out the bag entirely. And you meet
some dude you mentioned pruney. You've been pruning and pruning
and pruning.

Speaker 5 (33:50):
Gosh.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
Yeah, scorch Earth is behind you. You are moving forward
to LA and then you meet this kid named Caleb.

Speaker 5 (33:57):
Oh my goodness, enter the man. He oh man. So
we actually, yeah, we were both speaking at a conference
and he flirted with me. I flirted with him. I
thought he was really cute, but I was also like,
I'm not dating right now, so let's keep your distance.
And he actually he asked me on a date, and

(34:19):
I said no, I said, I'm moving to La chase
my dreams. But actually, this is something I don't think
I've ever said in an interview or anything. But at
the time, for some reason, like separately, some flowers were
a really big deal to both of us. It sounds
very strange. Every time I saw some flower, I was
reminded of God's fatefulness. Well, I don't know why. It was,

(34:40):
like I even have it on my Instagram, Like some
flowers were just really prevalent for me. Then it was
just a constant reminder that God was faithful. Some flowers
for him for some reason. I need to go back
and ask him why. It reminded him that God was close,
like God was near him and separately, neither of us
knew that some flowers were with me. I know this
sounds so bizarre, but just with me. We walked at

(35:02):
this speaking of it. He asked me. He was like,
let's just go. Let's let's go get coffee. We were
trying to find a coffee place. I found a coffee
place whatever, and we were with like one other person.
We walk into this coffee shop. There are sunflowers from
the top of the coffee shop to the bottom. I've
never seen anything like it decked out in sunflowers. I'm thinking,

(35:22):
what is happening, like, like what, and then he's thinking
the same thing, and we're both like having the sunflower moment.
And he's also like, I'm never gonna tell you like
I like some flowers. Like he's like, oh man, you
know what I mean, I'm not gonna be like some
flowers on my bag. But it was that was so
it was crazy.

Speaker 1 (35:39):
When did you connect on that? When did you both
admit what was going on?

Speaker 5 (35:41):
Gosh? It was like I think when we were like,
you know, like pretty like dating, we were like, remember
that coffee shop with some flowers, and I was like,
some flowers are a thing for me, and he was like,
you're joking. And then he brings out his phone and
he has like a list I hope he's okay with
me saying he's fine. He has like a list of
times in his life where God use sunflowers to speak
to him. And he was like, that was a moment

(36:04):
that I knew. He was like, I can't explain it,
but that was crazy. So that was wild. I still
said no though, to the date. Even after the Sunflower right,
moved out to LA and this man just pursued the
heck out of me. Like he flew out to LA,
took me on a date in Malibu for Valentine's Day.
We still barely knew each other. Man, All these people

(36:25):
I barely know were like.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
Like fled He's an unusual person. Now you know why
we cast her his beath?

Speaker 5 (36:34):
Oh my gosh, somebody. So yeah, he took me on
a date and we went to Malibu, and truly the
rest is history. We got engaged eight months later.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
All right, So there's kind of a checkered list of
things I need to go through with you quickly.

Speaker 5 (36:47):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
The first one is this. You offered to pick me
up at the airport today.

Speaker 5 (36:50):
Of course, and I should have.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Well, I turned you down because I know you're driving record.
Oh so when you're fifteen, at least to Missouri, we
do this, I'm assuming in Georgia too. You get your permit,
then you take your tests, and most of us passed
the first time.

Speaker 5 (37:05):
Probably know this.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
Did you pass the first time?

Speaker 5 (37:08):
Where did you see this thought? Did I say this? No?

Speaker 1 (37:10):
No, just no?

Speaker 5 (37:13):
Twice I failed my driver's says twice I.

Speaker 1 (37:16):
Heard maybe three times at least twice.

Speaker 5 (37:18):
Okay, actually, you're probably right, yes, because I did film. Yes,
you're right. Actually I stay corrected. Thank you for that, John.
Three times and the fourth time, I guess I was
about to fail. I kept eating the cold and okay,
but to be fair, I was. I was taking the
test in in a minivent, massive like spaceship of an
not even a minivan. It was calling minivan. This was

(37:39):
a spaceship and I was taking that. I was hitting
colones and all these colones s didn't even be behind me. Anyways,
this lady's about to fail me. And I look at
her and I was like, She's like, well, honey, tell
me something about your life. And I was like, well,
I get rejected a lot, like I'm in the acting world,
and it's a lot of nose. It takes a toll
on you. I really milked it for all it was worth,

(38:01):
and I just made this lady feel so bad for
my little rejected art. And I got my license that day.
I got my license.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
By one point, you got your license.

Speaker 5 (38:10):
I remember my dad though. I remember one time my
dad looked at me and I'm sobbing. Like the second
time I failed and he's like, I want you to
look around all these people driving. If they can do it,
you can do it. And I look over and there's
like some guy with his leg hanging out the car,
you know, And I was like, Okay, if this guy
did it, I can do it.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
It both gives me confidence to pass, but also makes
me wonder how in the world did all these folks
do it? Because you're pretty sure, it.

Speaker 5 (38:33):
Gives you perspective.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah, stay off the road. I walk most places.

Speaker 5 (38:37):
Now, Amen, sowhere.

Speaker 1 (38:40):
You and Caleb are married, and I understand not only
are you in movies, but occasionally you watch movies together,
sometimes carrying movies.

Speaker 5 (38:47):
John, this is probably the best interview. Actually not probably,
this is the best interview ever. So because the facts
you were pulling out is crazy.

Speaker 1 (38:57):
I understand. One time there was a pretty intense moment
you were transfixed on the television and then from behind
you on the left hand side, something on all fours
starts moving towards you.

Speaker 5 (39:06):
What happens, Well, listen, I do not have a good
fight or flight response. I don't fight. I don't fight.
I freeze. Okay, So we watch a scary movie, and
when I say scary I can't do horror, horror, like
anything spiritually scary, I can't do. I'm like, but spirituals
are not in touch for that. No, no, thank you,
not for entertainment anyways. But if it's like thriller, we

(39:28):
love a good thriller. Okay, this one was terrifying, absolutely terrifying.
So we get downe watching the movie. All the lights
are out because we're about to go to bed. I'm
in the kitchen like getting water, and I literally tell him, like,
do not scare me. I'm more like pretty recently married.
And all of a sudden, I'm like yelling Caleb's name.
He doesn't respond, and then all of a sudden, I

(39:48):
just hear just footsteps just loud, like you know, like
on the floor, a hardwood floor, and I am already
like my body's you know, freaking out. He comes charging
at me. Oh no, in the dark. Okay, and miss
thing in this movie that is charging on all fours.
I freak out so hard. I pee all over the

(40:10):
kitchen floor, all over the kitchen floor. I have a
glass in my hand I'm about to smash on his head,
so probably almost kill him, to be honest, peel on
the kitchen floor. He's horrified, and because he's like, oh
my word, I didn't expect this, like you told me,
she's scared, but wow. And then I started hyperventilating, and
then that turns into uncontrollable laughter. So I'm sobbing. There's

(40:32):
pea everywhere. I'm laughing, and it's just your body just
freaks out when you think you're about to die. Apparently,
when you think you're about to die, yeah, you just
lose You just lose it. So anyways, he learned a
pretty big lesson that day.

Speaker 1 (40:45):
Not to scare me, right, because I don't have a
romantic comedies.

Speaker 5 (40:48):
From working on it. He's my protector.

Speaker 1 (40:50):
I'll see that. Maybe because he's shared with me a
couple of things, and shared with me a couple more stories.
I'll only ask you about one of them. You fly
a bunch for work, and occasionally you give advice to
other passengers about cell phone usage.

Speaker 5 (41:03):
Did you talk to Cable?

Speaker 1 (41:05):
I don't know. I am dying, so what's the advice
she gave?

Speaker 5 (41:09):
So embarrassing, This is so embarrassing. I love Okay, I
was on a flight. I thought I was doing a
good deed, all right. I was sitting next to this
older woman who was on her cell phone. Was I
in my twenties, Was this like maybe not that long ago, potentially,

(41:30):
she was sitting there and she was on her phone,
and we're about to take off, all right. I was
always told that you need to always put your phone
on airplane mode because it is a very serious issue.
It is a serious issue with your phone bill. It
is a very it's not something to be trifled with,
all right. So she's still working on her phone, texting
her husband, and I am just so concerned for this woman.

(41:51):
And I look over and I'm like, man, like, we're
on the runway, like we're taking on. My man, you've
got to turn your cell phone on airplane mode. If
you don't, we're in the air and we're flying like
two states. I was like, if you don't, when we're
in the areas, you're gonna be charged thousands of dollars
and your phone bill is gonna freak out. It's not
gonna be good. And she is like, oh, my goodness,
I can't believe you. You just oh, you just saved

(42:11):
my whole phone bill. I can't. Oh my goodness, I'm
doing it right now. I'm doing it right now, and
she's like turning off, and I'm like, I just did
the best deed ever. And she's like, I'm gonna tell
my husband when I get home. I sat beside the
sweetest young lady that helped me, you know, not get
charged thousands of dollars when we're in the air. I
didn't even know you had to do that. I didn't
know that was that big of a deal. And I
was like, it's a very big deal. It's a very
big deal. So we land and I call Caleb and

(42:33):
I'm like, I just I'm real proud of myself. I
tell him the story and he's like, hey, okay, none
of that's true.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
I don't know who I married or where you get
your information from, but you're not charged thousands of dollars
in the air. And my father in law works for
Delta and I know nothing about this stuff, so it
was extremely embarrassing.

Speaker 5 (42:58):
But I thought you were charged thousands of dollars if
you didn't put your phone on your plane mode. So
if anyone out there thinks that you're not, you're safe.
But it is good for the plane to turn it off,
so still.

Speaker 1 (43:07):
Turn it off. That's your public safety announcement today for
Mason R. Plane. I'm glad you're not a flight attendant.
I'm glad you are in entertainment, which leads you and
me to be on this couch together today. Eventually you
get an opportunity of participating in Soul on Fire. How
did it first show up in your lap? And how
do you prepare to even read for a character like Beth?

(43:29):
What do you do for that?

Speaker 5 (43:30):
My word? Okay, so this again is crazy. How I
got this role. I really got a call from my
manager and I'd never even auditioned for this, and he said, hey,
you're like in the very top remmings to play this
role of Beth o' leary in this true story and
it's pretty amazing. And I was like, what, like I

(43:53):
how I didn't even audition I didn't think anyone it
was even considering me, you know, because it was like
I just filmed the Baxters but it hadn't come out yet.
I was feeling stagnant again again. I was in a
very wilderness type season, it felt like, and I was like,
that doesn't make any sense. And then I, you know,
he's like you and the director went to zoom and

(44:14):
I was just like so thrown off, but I was like, god, okay.
And I read the script and I was like, oh
my word, like I think I'm so st this, Like
I think this is mine too, and I just fell
in love with Beth. I fell in love with this
story and I was like, there's no other story I
want to tell, like I have to be a part
of this. And then I got the role so I'll

(44:36):
never forget. In our audition, I don't know if you
remember this, but I'm reading with Sean. I think I'm
reading with Sean. Yeah, And all of a sudden after it,
he's like, I don't know why I'm telling this, but
he's like, ma, see, can you like do the whole
scene to help up?

Speaker 1 (44:49):
Do you remember this?

Speaker 5 (44:50):
And I was like okay, and he's like, just do
the whole scene to like a lamp like instead of
my scene park because.

Speaker 1 (44:57):
We're on zooms, you're looking at the camera and he's like,
I feel awkward with you looking at us. Look off
to the side.

Speaker 5 (45:02):
I'm not even looking at what CAMA I thought I
was learning anyways, I was, so I was like okay.
But sometimes a director does that to see if you
can follow directors, So I think he was. I think
he was like, Okay, can this girl do what I
wanted to do, even if it sounds crazy, you know.
So I did it, and anyways, I got the call
that I got it, and I was just I was
floored because I truly think, like that doesn't happen, you
know what I mean, like just get a call out

(45:24):
of nowhere and be like, hey, you're like the number
one pick for this role when I'm in a staggler.

Speaker 1 (45:28):
Well, we had many other actors who had read for it,
and we were looking for the right one. And so anyway,
you come on screen and right and I'm next to Beth.
We're in the kitchen actually watching you, and then you
do your part. Sean gives feedback, You do your part again,
he gives you more feedback. You do it again, and
you're killing it each time. And then you finish and
they say kind of vaguely thank you, like a typical bowl.

(45:52):
So finally, like I unmute myself and I'm like, I
don't know about anybody else, but that was awesome and
I appreciate you doing that, And.

Speaker 5 (45:59):
You say that just made it just made all the
difference and made my entire world, because again, you don't
get that as actull.

Speaker 1 (46:06):
It's crazy that they are so locked up they can't
be honest. Yeah, So anyway, that was awesome. Bringing into
Saint Louis was a blast. How do you how do
you get ready when you're on set portraying real life individuals?
How do you? How do you do that? In this
case in.

Speaker 5 (46:22):
Particular, well, I got to zoom with Beth before I
flew out to Saint Louis, and that was amazing because
she was so open and I got to i don't know,
like even like kind of not studying her the whole
time she's talking, but kind of like, okay, her quirk's
like her, like her personality and like little movements she
would do like it's my favorite thing ever. And so
I was just kind of taking note as we were talking.

(46:44):
But also just her heart. I was like, man, this
is the woman that is just going to inspire millions
and millions of people, and I can see it like
she just it just came off the screen, just her
heart and who she was and who she's always been,
you know, like from the very beginning. And so we
got to talk a lot and she was just always there,

(47:06):
Like if I ever had any questions, I could text,
I could call. You were the same I could text you,
I could call. So there was that aspect of learning someone,
and then there's also an aspect of just trusting, like
trusting yourself to do it because it can be daunting
and be like, well if what if I don't do
it right? Like what if I don't do it justice?
You know, And at some point you just have to
be confident that you got the role for a reason

(47:29):
and that you were the one to portray the person
and step into it with that confidence. So yeah, that's
kind of how I went about it and dove into it.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
What was your favorite memory? Offset? And then I'll ask
you about what was your favorite moment on but when
when you're not working and when you're buzzing around.

Speaker 5 (47:46):
Okay, one of my favorite memories was when we were
all at your house and we all came over for
dinner and it was just like it just felt like
home and it felt like family, and it felt like
something so much deeper than Hollywood or just telling a story.
It was like, this is real and these are the
people I want to lock hands with, and I how

(48:08):
do I get to lock hands with these people, and
I think you felt the same thing of like from
every single member of this cast and crew and producers,
Like it felt like the most rare and special team
and we all just had that same heart in common
and you could feel it in the room. And I
think we just all really enjoyed being with each other,
like we really did, and we can't wait to be

(48:30):
Like even when you showed up today, I felt like
I saw you yesterday, Like, how had it been a
year and a half? You know? So I think that
was definitely a core memory for me. It's just hanging
out at your house.

Speaker 1 (48:41):
What about onset?

Speaker 5 (48:43):
Oh, oh my goodness. Who loved the bowling alley day?
I loved the days where I got to really step
into best quirks a little bit, you know, and which
was my like all time favorite because I also share
those with her, Like I feel like I'm working in
the way that she is, which is really fun. But
also man, I think one of the most impactful days

(49:08):
for me was when John when Joel is talking about
his scars for the first time in the dorm room, right,
and I think just Beth not rushing that moment, just
being there and loving him without any words, even like
hardly you know, I don't know. That moment was so

(49:30):
impactful for me on set of just like this is
true love, like being in it with someone and yeah,
the whole message of my favorite message of this whole
film is seeing someone's scars that we all have, because
we all have physical, emotional, like mental everything, we all
have scars and looking at someone fully broken like we

(49:55):
all are and saying I choose you and I love
you and you're the one. I think that's the most
powerful message. That's what God did for us, That's what
we do for each other.

Speaker 1 (50:06):
So good. That scene in the dorm was awesome. There
was a moment right before your first take where there
was a weird noise it sounded like a duck quacking,
and then you apologized and I thought, my gosh, Macy
McClain has just broken wind on set. I've never been
in Hollywood before. This is my first experience, and I
start cracking up. The whole set is cracking up. And

(50:28):
then it's only like two weeks later I learned that
wasn't okay.

Speaker 5 (50:33):
So backstory for this and this did this fell flat?
This fell so flat. So you're talking about right, there's
this physical therapy scene. Okay, so there's multiple scenes in
the dorm, but this is a physical therapy scene, and
I'm having to like, you know, like turn Joel in
different kinds of ways, like physical therapy. And so my
dad used to always do this to me, like he

(50:55):
would be like, oh, Macy, can you, like, can you
like creak my neck or like masabresh ord real quick,
turn my head and he would put a peppermint in
his mouth, and so I'd be like sure, whatever. So
I would turn his head and he would crunch down
on the peppermint, and I would I just like I
just killed my father, like I just killed him, and
then you would play it off whatever. So I looked
to Jone, all late, Lissen, I'm gonna turn your head

(51:16):
like as you're doing this physical therapy. And when I
do that, I'm gonna crunch down on this peppermint and
everyone's gonna freak out. And I don't know why I
thought it was a good idea. It was like delirious
at this point. And then it was late in the
night filming, I don't know, And so I did it,
like turned his head or his neck and then crunched
down and like, I think we and then the few
people in the room were the only ones that actually

(51:36):
heard it and knew what I did and were laughing,
and everyone else thought that I like, like you said,
broke wind on set and everyone left that day thinking
I did that. I was so mortified. I was think
it was a peppermint in my mouth. So funny.

Speaker 1 (51:51):
Anyways, Uh, the days are so long, and if you
don't love it, you hate it exactly. But it was
an awesome story to tell. It was an awesome group
to tell it with. You did an incredible job. When
folks check out Soul on Fire in theaters October tenth
and beyond, what do you hope they walk out of
their knowing about their life?

Speaker 5 (52:10):
Oh my goodness, I want them to walk out knowing
that they were created for a purpose. Scars and all
that those are the very things that God uses to
set other souls on fire and to it's like a
flame that just spreads. And we think our brokenness is
our biggest weakness. I think that's so cool about Scripture,
as he says, like in your weakness, I am strong,

(52:32):
Like give me your weakness. That's where I'm going to
be the strongest. That's where the most powerful things are
going to happen. So rather than hiding our scars and
shame and bearing them and stuffing them down so that
no one can see them, It's like, man, no, let
God invade the brokenness, and you will set souls on
fire with your life.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
Mason McClain, besides this film coming out, what's next for you?

Speaker 5 (52:56):
Oh my goodness. Okay, so this film is I can't
tell you how excited I am for it to come
out and that I get to be a part of it.
So first of all, I just want to say on
your podcast, thank you for trusting me. Just thank you,
Like it means the world that you trusted me to
step into best shoes. And I'll never ever be able

(53:17):
to even just tell you how much that means.

Speaker 1 (53:20):
I got to say speak to that then, like you
are part of our family I feel. I mean, it's
crazy because we picked this girl on Zoom who resembles
Beth in character and look, and then you fly in
town and we find that you're the same height nice,
which is really unusual because there's a scene where you
might have to wear a wedding dress and you might
have fit right into it without any alterations, Like every

(53:41):
single thinning was just I.

Speaker 5 (53:43):
Fit into that dressed up an nothing. Oh my gosh,
that was crazy. Wow, I've even forgot about that, so.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
I none of it was really even our choice. I
think it's a divine appointment and I'm glad it worked out.

Speaker 5 (53:55):
Amen. Well he gosh, me too, So that's the biggest thing. Also, I,
like I said, I'm screenwriting, and I've recently, along with Taylor,
We've gotten the book rights to a number one bestseller
and we are so excited about it. We are producing
it alongside Romadowney, and we are about to go to networks,

(54:17):
and it is something we are so passionate about telling.
It's another story of kind of brokenness, but not being
something that defines us, but the redemption that comes from it.
And man, it's an impactful story. So I can't wait
to tell that it's historical fiction. And then yeah, I
have some Christmas movies coming out this year, so I'm

(54:37):
really excited.

Speaker 1 (54:38):
Basically loves Christmas.

Speaker 5 (54:39):
Listen, I am like the dead of summer in Georgia
writing scenes in the snow with Christmas trees and Sanna
just kidding, there's actually no Sanna so far in my movies.
But it is really funny. Sometimes I have to turn
on Christmas music in the dead of August so I
can get in the mood. But I love it. It's
so fun. So yeah, those are some things coming.

Speaker 1 (55:00):
Where can people follow you?

Speaker 5 (55:01):
They can follow me on Instagram. It's Macey McLean, so fun. Fact,
a lot of people think my name is Mazie or Massy.
It's actually Macy. It's pronounced like the department store but
spelled extremely different. So it's m A s E Y
m c l A I N Macy McLean. I'm on
Instagram and Facebook I have. I've not really ventured into that.

(55:23):
I know this is crazy, but I'm not on TikTok good.
Isn't that great? But a true point. I had to
like trim some of it away.

Speaker 1 (55:29):
I got a purpose. Cho was just too much, so
Mace mclin. We wrap up with all of our actors
and directors and singer songwriters and friends with seven questions.
They're called the Live Inspired Seven.

Speaker 5 (55:43):
Oh my gosh, okay, so.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
Buckle up here we go. Question Number one, best book
you've ever read, The most impactful book you've.

Speaker 5 (55:51):
Ever ready, I can't say the Bible, right, you.

Speaker 1 (55:52):
Can if you say the Bible, ask you to pick up.

Speaker 5 (55:56):
Okay, we'll Genille and say the Bible. If I was
picking a book within it John, Why John? I think
John shows us like just the heart and love of
God and why came for us and is so clear
in it.

Speaker 1 (56:11):
What's one positive characteristic you had as a little girl
you wish you exhibited as brilliantly today.

Speaker 5 (56:17):
Oh, probably the care freness in the sense of I
think the more you live life, the more you can
get in your head and overthink things and think it
kind of played chess in your brain. And I just
loved I think I've always been very just when I
was little, just very carefree, and I'm always trying to
get back to that because it's who I am inside.

Speaker 1 (56:37):
It is undoubtedly if you're home caught fire and all
living things, Caleb and the animals, even Jess, everybody is
out safely and you have an opportunity of running in
and grabbing one thing. So you get to grab one
physical thing and race it back outside. What do you grab?

Speaker 5 (56:52):
Oh, my gosh, I would probably grab I would grab
my husband's guitar. Sorry that his Grandpa gave them because
it means the world to him, and I think I
have everything that we that would crush him the most
to not have. He loved his grandpa and never got
to meet him. But I feel like I know his
grandpa almost threw that guitar.

Speaker 1 (57:13):
So when we picked Macy, we picted her because my
wife's heart is so for others like Beth is just awesome.
And we've had almost eight hundred guests on the show,
and everyone grabbed beautiful things for them. Not a person
has grabbed something for someone they love. That doesn't mean
they didn't grab pictures to pass down generationally. But you
grabbed a guitar that does not belong to you, was

(57:35):
not given to you and will not remain with you
to hand to your husband and say maybe we can rebuild. Yeah,
that's pretty awesome. If you could sit on a bench
on a gorgeous day and have a long conversation with
anyone living or deceased, who would you like to be
next to?

Speaker 5 (57:50):
Oh, my goodness, living or deceased. Well, my dream came
true because I'm sitting next to John Leary.

Speaker 1 (58:00):
Hold you, she's a pretty good actor. In additioned, so
now you've got you got room on both sides. Oh,
Larry's on one side. Who do you want on your
other side? Macy?

Speaker 5 (58:08):
Oh okay, So if I get to sit next to
anyone living or dead, who would I want to sit
next to? I mean, I mean, obviously Jesus. I mean,
who wouldn't write? Come on like it literally it's Jesus? Like, okay, yeah,
I'm gonna go with the fun answer. Okay, So Jesus
is my obvious answer, because I mean, who wouldn't want
to sit next to God? I'm going to go with

(58:32):
I'm gonna go with Kaitlyn Clark right now.

Speaker 1 (58:35):
Really, you're after this, I'm after it all right. Well
it's in the universe. Now we're going to strive to
make it happen. So kay, Then Clark and Jesus are
part of the Basie McClain in Georgia.

Speaker 5 (58:44):
This is all weird. Bitch, Ready to play some basketball.
Let's go.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
What's the best advice Caitlyn, Jesus or anybody else ever
gave you? So the best advice Macy McClain has ever
received is best advice?

Speaker 5 (58:57):
Oh okay. One of my favorite pieces of advice is
to be spiritually selfish and that sounds a little crazy,
but actually I think Priscilla Shire is the one that
said it, and it means like, do what you need
to do to fill your soul, like tell the person no,
you can't go hang out, tell you know you can't

(59:18):
do this. You need to push this back whatever to
fill up your soul. So sometimes for me that looks
like instead of going I don't know, somewhere in the
morning to get coffee where I wouldn't get coffee, I'm
going to go on a walk with God and I'm
going to talk her. But I don't know. It can
look different for everyone. But be like prioritize mainly your soul, right,
that is that where everything in your life will flow

(59:39):
out of. Be spiritually selfish.

Speaker 1 (59:41):
If you could go back in time a couple of
years and whisper some wisdom your weight age twenty, what
does that little girl need to hear?

Speaker 5 (59:48):
Oh, my goodness, little poor twenty year old Macy, she
was struggling. I think Macy would need to hear it
twenty to cut off some things in her life relationship
that were not good and that she knew were not good,
and to trust that God has the better.

Speaker 1 (01:00:06):
Thing Mason McLain's Star of Soul on Fire. It has
been said that all great people can have their lives
summed up in one sentence. How would you like your
one sentence to read? Oh, I actually know this.

Speaker 5 (01:00:22):
I want at the end of my life. I think
the one sentence I'd wanted to say was Macy walked
with God. And that hit me because I was reading
in Genesis there's a guy named Enoch, and he lived
over three hundred years, and these people were brilliant. I
don't believe these people were cavemen. I think they did
amazing things. They probably built amazing things. They were had

(01:00:43):
minds and brains and souls and hearts, and out of
all the things he probably could have done in four
hundred years, the one sentence that defined his life was
Enoch walked with God. And I was like, man, that's
what God decided to put in scripture about him, and
I want that to be said, like, not all the
accomplishments at the end of the day. I think the
urpose of real life is to walk with God. I

(01:01:03):
think it's very simple. I think everything flows out of that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:07):
Mason McClain, actor and writer and singer songwriter and friend.
Thank you for walking with God, and thank you for
walking with me, and thank you for portraying Beth so
the rest of us might be liberated to walk with God. Also,
it's a real gift that you gave us and I
can't wait for people to check it out. And my friends,

(01:01:27):
that is the voice and the life of my friend
Macy McClain. My name is John O'Leary, and today is
your day. Live inspired. My friends, I told you on

(01:01:48):
the front side of the conversation with Macy McClain, you
were going to love the conversation. You're going to love
her heart, You're gonna love her story. And I think
after hearing it, you are more clear than ever that
through faith, through family, through a little bit of laughter
and some effort, we can not only overcome the difficulties
we face in life, but we could do great things
not only in our lives, but also the life of

(01:02:11):
those that we serve. Mason McClain is an incredible reflection
of that. If you want to make sure that you
are in on all these episodes that we're having around
Macy McClain and the other actors and participants who brought
the film sol on Fire to life. Make sure you
like and subscribe this wherever you are watching this video
right now or listening to this podcast, it ensures that

(01:02:34):
all these voices of Soul on Fire will arrive in
your inbox and can inspire your heart and your life
going forward. So like, subscribe and make sure you get
the updates alongside of us. And if you want to
make sure that you are liberated and free to live
boldly like Mason McClain and the ladies she portrays in
the film Bath O'Leary, why not join me online right now?

(01:02:57):
Go to Soul on fivemovie dot com and at that
website you can watch the trailer. You can order tickets
you want to be really bold, you can rent out
theaters theaters for your church, for your school, for your business,
for a group of folks that you hang out with
and do life with. Why not celebrate this journey together

(01:03:18):
with them. It's not too late to go to Soul
on Fire movie dot com. The film officially comes out
October tenth, but a little secret in information. Come on,
lean anglos. You can actually order entire theaters to fill
up at a time. So go to the website and
let's make sure we share the inspiration together. My friends,

(01:03:39):
I want to thank you for being part of not
only this episode with Meson McClain, but for part of
our podcast family that reminds you the headwind is reel.
The challenges we face are fears, but the foundation is
firm and the best of you had to come. So
for this time, Amanda, until next time, my name is
John O'Leary. Today is your day. Family, live with your

(01:04:01):
soul on fire. With so much negativity and cynicism in
the marketplace, there is a movie rolling into theaters around
the country and around the world that is the perfect

(01:04:22):
antecdote to it. The film is called Soul on Fire.
It is the true story of a little boy who
endured burns to one hundred percent of his body and
then the miraculous recovery not only from being burns, but
ultimately of what it looks like to live fully again.
My friends, why not step into a theater on October

(01:04:43):
tenth and afterwards to be re ignited with the gift
of your life and the truth that God is still God,
the foundation still firm, and the best is yet to come.
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