Ryan Reynolds Posts Throwback Picture of Late Father Jim

— -- Ryan Reynolds is mourning the loss of his father James Reynolds.

The 39-year-old actor posted a touching throwback photo of father and son earlier today on Twitter.

"RIP Pops. James C. Reynolds. 1941-2015," Reynolds wrote, along with a personal plea to fans to support the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease.

In 2008, Reynolds revealed in an op-ed for the Huffington Post that his father had been in a "life or death struggle with Parkinson's Disease" for 15 years.

"I've watched my father -- a strong and proud person who successfully raised 4 arguably insane children - slowly, cruely [sic] stripped of his independence. His golden years robbed without explanation. It quite obviously sucks. Witnessing my Dad suffer over the years galvanized my need to step up," the actor wrote.

Around the same time of his personal tribute to his dad, Reynolds met Michael J. Fox -- who has been dealing with the disease since 1991 -- and began working with Fox's foundation to raise awareness about the disease.

In 2013, Reynolds told ABC News that if he hadn't become an actor, he would have been a cop, like his dad, who was known as Jim.

"My dad was a cop and my brother's one, that's the family business," he said.

After becoming a dad himself at the end of last year, Reynolds named his daughter, James, after his father.