16 celebrity dads offer up their heartwarming quotes about fatherhood

Warning: This article may invoke serious broodiness.

A celebrity dad is a beautiful thing. When you take the already-excellent formula of hot, talented famous male and add a baby or three to the mix, of course you're onto a winner (the only downside being that these men are obviously taken so having a baby with them ourselves is probably out of the question).

We've rounded up the most aww-inducing quotes on fatherhood from our favourite A-list men that will make you want to stop what you're doing and reproduce.

Adam Levine

Adam Levine loves every minute of being a father to his daughter, Dusty Rose. Less than a month after her birth, he famously said: 'I've been a parent for three weeks: What do I know? I don't know anything, but it's kind of part of the beauty of it, honestly. There are a lot of instincts, a lot of things that kind of kick in and switch on. It's a beautiful experience.'

Jude Law

Jude Law has five children (Rafferty, Iris, Rudy, Sophia and Ada), so it's no surprise that he knows a thing or two about fatherhood. He's been quoted in the past saying: 'Success, and even life itself, wouldn't be worth anything if I didn't have my children by my side. They mean everything to me.' (Aw!)

Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are parents to two daughters: Esmerelda and Amada. Speaking to GQ he once said: 'Eva's the dream mother, and they're dream babies, and it's like a dream that I'm having right now. I'm dreaming it all. So I feel so lucky... When you meet your kids you realise that they deserve great parents. And then you have your marching orders and you have to try and become the person that they deserve... My life [has] changed. And thank God it did.'

Justin Timberlake

Justin and his wife, Jessica Biel, are parents to a young boy, Silas. Speaking about fatherhood on Today, he said: 'It changes everything. You literally just wake up... Look in the mirror and go, "I have no idea what I'm doing."' He also said: 'All of this imperfection is the best part. That's going to be the part that you remember the most.'

Adam Brody

Seth Cohen is all grown up and a dad now. Feeling old? Speaking to People, Adam opened up about life with his daughter, Arlo, and how he likes to spend quality time with her. 'I do a nice morning hike with my daughter, that's always a treat. It's something to do in the wee hours of the morning when she's up. It's a good activity for both of us. We hike around our house... Watching the sun rise with a kid is pretty fun.'

Channing Tatum

No-one knows the perils of being a father to a little girl better than Channing Tatum. Comparing fatherhood to a film role, when his daughter Everly was born he said: 'I've never protected the president [in real life], but I have been a new dad, and I can tell you that being a new dad is pretty terrifying. I'm pretty sure that something about the president makes the stakes a little higher, but to me as a new father, nothing is more important or scary than protecting a daughter.' We are melting here...

Ashton Kutcher

Ex Punk'd host Ashton has smartened up his funny-man act since becoming a parent to baby daughter Wyatt in 2015, with his actress-wife, Mila Kunis. Opening up about becoming a father, he explained: 'It's legitimately the greatest thing ever...It just makes me wanna be better'.

John Legend

John became one of the coolest celebrity dads in Hollywood when he opened up about paternity leave, speaking out about how he plans to co-parent the daughter he conceived via IVF with Chrissy Teigen. Speaking to E! he revealed that he's going to 'slow down' and take some paternity leave so he's on hand for Chrissy 24/7: 'I feel like, my mentality is just to be open and ready to help with whatever I can, and to be as loving to my wife and to our daughter as much as possible.' he said. 'I think paternity leave is good. I think it's good for me to be home with Chrissy and helping her with whatever she needs, and I want to get to know our little baby!' Too cute for words...

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt shares a six-strong brood with ex wife Angelina Jolie, crediting his parental role with changing him for the better. 'Fatherhood is the best thing I ever did,' he explained. 'It changes your perspective. You can write a book, you can make a movie, you can paint a painting, but having kids is really the most extraordinary thing I have taken on...[fatherhood] is everything.... the hardest job in the world, the most rewarding job in the world.... We put in long days. And to go home and have dinner with your kids, and have to discipline one of them who's out of line, and still have the energy for that is.... I can't explain the fulfilment of that, but it is everything.'

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively recently welcomed their third baby girl, with Ryan never missing an opportunity to gush about his brood. Speaking on the David Letterman show after the birth of his first child, he told audiences how his protective instincts had, er, shifted somewhat: 'I used to say, 'I would take a bullet for you.' The second I looked into that baby's eyes, I knew in that exact moment that if we were ever under attack, I would use my wife as a human shield to protect that baby.'

Chris Hemsworth

Chris and wife Elsa Pataky have three beautiful kids together and Chris of course, couldn't be happier. 'I just have so much fun doing it [being a Father]' he said. And the actor also revealed his parental role makes him reconsider work commitments. 'Now I'm a bit more choosy, I think, with when I work and how I work because it better be worthwhile to take me away from them.'

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew's three-strong brood with wife Camilla Alves changed his entire life outlook. Speaking in 2014 he revealed: '[Fatherhood] is the one thing I've always wanted to be... Never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn. You know what's important. I definitely got more selfish. And at the same time, I think I got more compassionate.'

Kanye West

As celebrity Dads go, Kanye's pretty cool. He has rapped and sung about his children, and regularly speaks out about how much he loves his family with Kim Kardashian: 'When I look in North's eyes, I'm happy about every mistake I've ever made' he said. Awww, Kanye you're killing us.

Chris Martin

Hey it looks like Chris Martin is a great father and a staunch feminist (double-win) judging from his quotes on family. 'Men should always change diapers' he quipped. 'It's a very rewarding experience. It's mentally cleansing. It's like washing dishes, but imagine if the dishes were your kids, so you really love the dishes.' We love this analogy.

Matt Damon

OK, tissues at the ready for this beautiful quote from Matt Damon, who shares parental responsibility of four kids with wife Luciana Barroso. 'The only way I can describe [Fatherhood]... it sounds stupid, but at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows like five times? Everything is full; It's just full all the time' he once told a magazine. (Excuse us whilst our hearts burst).

Jay-Z

You'll never be able to think of Jay as a tough rapper again after stalking Bey's Insta and checking out all their cute family snaps. Jay said: 'I thought I would be more inspired to have all these new feelings to talk about, but I really just want to hang out with my daughter.'

Michael Bublé

'[Fatherhood is] the greatest thing that could ever happen. You can't explain it until it happens, it's like telling somebody what water feels like before they've ever swam in it.' Could Michael be any more poetic in his explanation of Dad-joy? We feel like he should make this a song...

Chris Rock

The funny-man and father is definitely living his best life as a dad: 'Every day I'm proud to be a dad. When you have kids, there's no such thing as quality time. There's just time. There's no, "Ooh, his graduation's better than going to the mall." It's all kind of equal. Changing her diaper and her winning a contest, it's all good.'