Kirk Cameron, who rose to fame as Mike Seaver in ABC's "Growing Pains" from 1985-92, switched from atheism to Christianity in 1990, married his onscreen girlfriend, Chelsea Noble, in 1991, and is dad to six children - four of them adopted.

Despite his Hollywood background, he had to audition for the role of Caleb Holt in "Fireproof," which opens today in theaters nationwide. The movie is the latest from Sherwood Pictures, a nonprofit ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga.

"Fireproof" is the story of a fire captain who is called a hero in public but faces marital burnout at home. Caleb's lack of love, time and interest for his wife, Catherine (Erin Bethea), is accompanied by her budding romantic attachment to a co-worker.

But don't think the plot is dry or predictable.

"It's a fun movie. It's action-packed," Cameron said in a phone interview from Beverly Hills. "I hope that more people make movies like this that have strong stories with redeeming messages."

Here is what the 37-year-old actor had to say about his family, his faith and the movie:

Q. Did you observe firefighters to get ready for this role? If so, what insights did you gain about their lives and work?

A. Yes, I trained before and during the movie with some firefighters in Los Angeles and Georgia. I got to do some of the fun stuff from sliding down the pole into the trucks to being able to handle all those hoses and navigate through a burning building.

(Firefighters) put themselves on the line all the time, sometimes in ways they don't bring home because they don't want to bring stress home to their wives. It often leads to a lot of relationship strains. The divorce rate for firefighters is up around 75 percent.

Q. Since you've been married for about 17 years, you've surely experienced some of the challenges of marriage. Was there a particular scene in "Fireproof" or character trait in Caleb that you especially related to?

A. One of the traits I could particularly relate to is this is a guy who doesn't believe in God. Throughout the movie, he talks to his father about his father's newfound faith. I remember that in my own life - being a doubtful skeptic about God. And finding it takes a whole lot more faith to be an atheist than it does to come to true faith in God.

Q. Would non-Christians enjoy the movie or will they be put off by the strong Christian message?

A. The movie's for anyone, whether you have faith in God or not. This is a movie about love, trust, hope, healing. Plus, it's just a great movie. You're going to laugh and cry. It's a very masculine movie, with the firefighters, but it's also a chick flick. And the main character is not some religious guy.

Q. Would you like to be in another TV series?

A. Maybe someday there would be a television series that fits with my family. Right now, I have a wife, we're considering home schooling, been doing my TV series and the movie. I'm looking forward to a bit of calm after busy-ness.