Kirk Cameron shared his biggest regret about his role in FIREPROOF.
One scene shows Cameron’s character, small town fire chief Caleb Holt, yelling at his wife. The actor admitted he felt deeply uncomfortable playing the scene and later rewatching it.
“You know, I often wonder what my kids think of this when they watch the movie now and see me married to some other woman and then me yelling and screaming. I’ve never talked like that to my wife, to their mom,” he said in a YouTube video.
The 2008 movie, directed by Alex Kendrick, follows Caleb and his wife Catherine through their marriage struggles.
“As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb’s father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day adventure he calls ‘The Love Dare.’ Wondering if it’s even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, but more for his father’s sake than for his marriage,” the synopsis reads. “Along the journey, however, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God…and, with God’s help, truly love his wife. But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever…rescuing his wife’s heart.”
Related: Actor Kirk Cameron Reveals the Toughest Lesson He’s Ever Learned
Cameron explained that the director pushed him to act far angrier than his natural demeanor.
“And it actually made me super uncomfortable to even do this, particularly as someone who believes that you’re to honor your wife. And in fact, the director got upset with me that I wasn’t angry enough in this scene until I reached this level,” he revealed.
After the scene, Cameron felt convicted to apologize to God.
“That is so uncomfortable for me to watch. And boy, my sons would drop me if they ever saw me speak to my wife that way,” Cameron said. “I remember actually apologizing to God after doing that because I should never speak to anyone that way, let alone my wife, even if it’s just an on-screen wife. And I hoped that I hadn’t raised my own emotional ceiling to where that would affect the way that I responded to my real wife in real life.”
While the scene was certainly difficult for the actor, Movieguide® praised Cameron’s portrayal of Caleb, saying he did “an excellent job turning Caleb into a real person.” Movieguide® celebrated the movie’s “stirring presentation of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God’s amazing grace” and awarded it the Epiphany Prize for Inspiring Movies.
In the end, revisiting FIREPROOF gave Cameron a chance to reflect on faith, character and grace under pressure. Though the role demanded intense conflict on screen, his reaction off screen demonstrates a commitment to letting his personal faith guide his actions in everyday life — demonstrating that his character off screen matters far more than the ones he plays for the camera.
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