Not only did it mark an entire generation from the big screen. Since he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Michael J. Fox He became an expert in the field and, since its foundation, he has provided information and fought tirelessly to find a cure for the disease. For this reason, he was chosen by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of 2024.
To talk about him, the publication contacted one of his friends, Ryan Reynolds. The protagonist of Deadpool He accepted the proposal and wrote an essay in which he dedicated moving words to his colleague.
“I know Michael J Fox. I know him pretty well. He’s funny, he’s fiery, he’s handsome and intensely intelligent. He also falls a lot. Not just because he has Parkinson’s. He falls a lot because he is not afraid of flying,” said the protagonist of Deadpool in the emotional text.
“I met Mike 17 years ago. I have seen him lift the bar with purpose and passion. It would be a bit lazy to describe him simply as the greatest mentor of Parkinson’s research on the planet. He is someone who helped my father, and millions of people, feel less alone. It would also be a little lazy to consider him simply as a movie star who touched the lives of people around the world, with a unique electric wit and self-aware charm. He is the sum of these beautiful parts. And many more,” he indicated.
“Last year I saw Back to the Future with my 8 year old daughter. And from that moment it became her favorite movie. That’s enough for me and her. Another child of a new generation sees what I saw,” Reynolds revealed.
“I know how lucky I am to call Mike a friend. She still has no idea that I know him. I don’t need to teach my daughter the level of compassion that Mike has mastered. Or teach him to tell stories the way Mike tells stories. I need to teach him that it’s okay to fall a lot. It is the best way to know that you are flying,” concludes the actor.
Ryan Reynolds shared the text on his Instagram account and Fox was quick to respond. “With friends like you it is easy to achieve anything. Thank you, friend,” he expressed.
Reynolds’ eldest daughter is named after her father James, who died in 2015 at the age of 74, shortly after the girl’s birth. In an interview published by The Mr. Porter Post, the actor revealed that his father was able to meet the little girl. “That made me happy,” he noted.
As the Green Lantern star told Today in 2014, his father battled Parkinson’s disease for almost 20 years. In that same interview he stated that the diagnosis brought his family even closer: “In a way, he encouraged everyone else to look for resources. And that, in a strange way, really brought us together.”
The closeness between the actors is not only personal. Since 2009, Reynolds has served on the board of directors of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the organization that Fox founded in 2000 with the goal of finding a cure for the disease.
At the time, Fox also had glowing words for his colleague. “He is destined to be a really important person. He’s so smart, he’s so talented…he knows how to leverage resources and make projects successful. Everything he touches is gold,” he said a few years ago.