Actor and author 9of bestselling memoir Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey celebrated turning 54 over the weekend, and with that he received a sweet social media message from his eldest son about how he views him as a father. Fifteen-year-old Levi McConaughey recently shared sweet sentiments about the one-time Oscar nominated actor that offers the public an insight into what it’s like to be the son of such a famous Hollywood figure.

Levi Alves McConaughey recently joined Instagram for the first time over the summer when he received permission from his parents on his birthday in July. This week, the teen wrote this to help ring in his father’s birthday:

People know Matthew McConaughey as an actor and now a writer, but I know him as my father; The man who always makes time for us no matter what, the man who’s always there for us no matter what, and the man that taught me to appreciate the journey and not just the destination. The journeys just getting started…Happy birthday Papai.

How sweet! The son of Matthew McConaughey and the actor’s partner of 17 years, Camila Alves, accompanied the note with a selection of photographs alongside the Interstellar star and the rest of their family over the years:

Levi McConaughey is the eldest of the three Alves McConaughey kids. His sister Vida Alves McConaughey is 13 going on 14 on January 3, and he has a younger brother, Livingston Alves McConaughey, who is currently 10 and set to turn 11 on December 28. The Alves McConaughey look like a sweet family, and per Levi’s comments, their patriarch is a solid and important presence in his life. He shared that the actor is “there for us no matter what” and has taught him a lot about appreciating the journey of life.

Matthew McConaughey has been a Hollywood actor since his first role in Dazed and Confused. He’s made a mark in the industry for starring in some of the best romantic comedies of the early ‘00s before saying goodbye to his trademark genre in 2010. Since then, there’s been a ton of great McConaughey movies over the years, from Magic Mike, to Dallas Buyers Club, to The Wolf of Wall Street.

Along with the actor’s work in Hollywood, he has inspired many with his outlook on life with Greenlights, which has been on the Amazon Charts for 158 consecutive weeks. He has also been a prominent figure in the world of philanthropy and politics, such as with his just keep livin Foundation, which empowers high school students to lead active and healthy lives.

The actor has some upcoming 2024 movies on the way. Look out for a crime thriller called Rivals of Amziah King, co-starring Kurt Russell, which wrapped production in Alabama over the summer on next year’s calendar. As we wait for his next project, it’s sweet to see his son Levi deliver such a touching 54th birthday tribute about who the actor is like in his personal life.