Chris Hemsworth is to become a father for the first time. The Thor actor's wife Elsa Pataky is pregnant with the couple's first child and the Spanish actress says they are "delighted and very excited."

"Having the person that you love by your side and starting a family with them is the best thing that can happen to you in this life. You can't ask for more," she said.

The baby is due in the spring. Elsa, 35, says the couple - who married in December 2010 - are keen to have a large family and want their unborn tot to have a sibling in the future: "I want to have a big family, and so does Chris. My dream is to have more than one child."

Chris, 28, has already got experience with children as his older brother has a little girl and he recently revealed his niece has a toy doll of him as superhero Thor: "I was talking with my older brother the other day and his daughter was running around the house with a Thor action figure; he wanted to pull the batteries out of it because she keeps pressing the button and making it speak, 'I am Thor!' or, 'The mighty Mjolnir!' It does nothing but make me laugh, it's great."