Heartthrob dads: Celebrities we love

"We'd love to have a big family," dad-to-be Ryan Reynolds has said of wife Blake Lively. "We both come from big families—my parents did four, Blake's did five. A lot of people say it's crazy, but we'll only know when we're there, you know? We'll walk through that fire pretty happily, I think."

Read on for more heartthrob dads (and dads-to-be)...swoon!>>>>>

Read more: Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively baby on the way>

“I’d like to be making babies but I’m not, so I’m making movies," he famously said prior, of course, to making a baby with Eva Mendes! "When someone comes along, I don’t think I’ll be able to do both and I’m fine with that. I’ll make movies until I make babies. I have no idea when the handover will happen.” 

Hmm, we'll see what happens now! We'll definitely miss him if he stops making movies. Nooo!

Ashton's a pretty private guy, so we'll await his remarks on fatherhood. But you can get a sense of what he hopes for his new baby girl from his sweet birth announcement. "Mila and I would like to welcome Wyatt Isabelle Kutcher to the world," he writes. "May your life be filled with wonder, love, laughter, health, happiness, curiosity, and privacy."

"Can you guess which one is ours, or does it really matter?" he adds, referring to a series of cute newborn pics. "All babies are cute."

Read more: Ashton Kutcher warns about kids striving for fame>

"[Fatherhood] is everything," dad of six Brad Pitt (*swoon*) has said. "The hardest job in the world, the most rewarding job in the world."

"We put in long days," he adds. "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 fulfillment of that, but it is everything." 

Read more: Older dads: Celebrities we love>

"I've never protected the president [in], but I have been a new dad, and I can tell you that being a new dad is pretty terrifying," dad-of-one Channing Tatum told the press when he was promoting his movie White House Down."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."

Read more: Channing Tatum: Advice for new dads>

"Now I represent what he is to become," Dad-of-two Usher has said. "He's gonna admire me, he's gonna look up to me. He's gonna say, 'I wanna be'—or he should say—'I wanna be like my father. I wanna be a man of valor. I wanna possess what my father has as a man.'"

"[Fatherhood] is definitely transformational," says dad-of-one Josh Duhamel. "My problem is that I'm not very productive anymore, because I always want to be there when he gets up. . . .We're going to do what we can to raise a good boy, for sure."

"In my career there’s many things I’ve won and many things I’ve achieved," dad-of-four David Beckham has said. "But my greatest achievement is my family. What matters is being a good father and a good husband—just being connected to family as much as possible. Being a dad is more important than football, more important than anything. I adore children. I love the fact our children are part of both of us. It’s one of the most amazing things ever."

Read more: Celebrities who have lots of kids>

“I think the most important thing is to always be involved in every aspect of their life,” dad-of-four Mark recently told Esquire. “To give them enough trust that they can share things with you. I don’t want them to be terrified of me, you know? But I don’t want them to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it, either, because they can’t.”

Read more: Fatherhood: Mark Wahlberg shares hopes and fears>

"The only way I can describe [fatherhood]—it sounds stupid," says dad-of-four Matt Damon, "but—at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows, like, five times its size? Everything is full; it’s just full all the time."

"Family is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't mean you can't do other stuff in your life," says dad-of-three Ben Affleck. "In fact, having a family makes whatever other thing you have that much richer. If it was just me, I'd be home alone and think, 'Well, something good happened at work,' but it's much nicer to share it with people you love."

Read more: Ben Affleck's kids: Batman can't compete with Frozen>

"Being a father is certainly a task," says dad-of-three Chris Hemsworth (Thor!), "but the best one that I could ever ask for. Being home, being with the family—that's what it's about."

Read more: Celebrity parents of multiples>

"I think I’m even more open and more giving as a father now," says dad-of-five Bruce Willis. "I pay more attention now because I value it more and I’m less caught up with my career." 

"Your kids need your love and attention, and being able to devote myself to them is very fulfilling. As I get older, spending time with my daughters makes things much easier. You learn to put your ego aside."

Read more: Bruce Willis welcomes his fifth daughter>

"They understand that papa goes to work, that there's a difference between reality and movies, and that he can be in more than one place at a time," dad-of-three Matthew McConaughey told reporters shortly after his recent Oscar win. "I took Levi to set on Lincoln Lawyer and let him watch a scene and then let him watch it on the monitor, and for him it was a magic trick—you can be in more than one place at one time."