For Peter Facinelli, fatherhood informs his life on and off-screen. The actor co-directs and stars in the new film “On Fire,” portraying a father trying to help his family survive a deadly forest fire. As a father of four, Facinelli immediately clicked with the character. He told Fox News Digital, “It was a lot of using my imagination to imagine what it would be like to have to survive this harrowing experience. And when your family’s life is on the line, you know, what would that be like?”
Facinelli shares three daughters, Luca, Lola and Fiona, with ex-wife Jennie Garth and recently welcomed a baby boy, Jack, with his partner Lily Anne Harrison. His daughter with Garth are mostly grown, but the former couple still work together to co-parent. He said, “We have adult kids now, so in that sense, it becomes a different partnership. It becomes about communicating.” He continued, “Our youngest daughter does one week at my house and one week at her house. And we touch base with each other. She’s in high school, so it requires being able to make sure we set boundaries at our houses that we’re both in agreement on. So, communication, I think, is important.”
Another essential element in Facinelli’s life is his faith. The “Twilight” star grew up Catholic and still follows a spiritual practice he passes on to his kids. He joked, “I think my youngest daughter, she’s kind of studying a lot of different religions. And, you know, they all kind of, in a weird way, are all kind of saying the same thing, you know, don’t kill their neighbor, but they all fight over who’s the best.”
He continued, “But at the end of the day, just be a good person and just live a good life. You have morals, and [I am] instilling those morals into my kids and having them have that inner judgment and say what they know, [and] what’s right and what’s wrong. And then watching them navigate that and being there for them when they’re unsure, unclear.” Faith and family play critical roles in “On Fire.”
The movie was inspired by the actual events of a family, made up of a father (Facinelli), his eight-month pregnant wife, and their teenage son, fighting to survive devastating wildfires racing through where they live. The 49-year-old actor said, “My character is just a dad who’s not, you know, the hero that you see on the posters hanging off a building on those disaster films.” The actor leaned on his faith in understanding his character and the chaos of surviving the wildfires, but he also believes it’s just as important to have faith outside dire circumstances.
He said, “I think it’s easy to find faith when you have a tough time when something hard is happening in your life; you become a believer quickly because there’s a higher power that you’re talking to get you through it.” Facinelli continued, “I think it’s harder to find that faith when things are going well, and I like to continue to tap into that higher self and the higher energy and the universe and in God on a daily basis.”