New father Ryan Gosling is happier than he's ever been after the birth of his daughter Amada Lee.

The actor and his girlfriend Eva Mendes surprised fans on Monday (09May16) after it was revealed the actress had given birth in secret to their second child on 29 April (16), just weeks after news of her pregnancy broke.

Despite keeping their new arrival a closely guarded secret, when asked by a breakfast TV show host about the increase in boy to girl ratio, Ryan confirmed there had been an increase and jokingly gushed about what it was like to be a father to daughters, newborn Amada and her sister, 20-month-old Esmeralda.

"It's heaven. It's like walking through a field of flowers every day," he says. "I live with angels."

In the interview with Good Morning America host Amy Robach, Ryan also humorously took aim at Russell Crowe, his co-star in new movie The Nice Guys, joking that his daughters helped cheer him up after he fell out with his castmate.

"It's a ray of sunshine in a dark time, honestly, because with Russell, it's sad. It's sad that we've turned out this way."

The 35-year-old actor quipped that he and Russell had undergone a "conscious un-buddying" since filming their roles as a pair of freelance investigators in the Shane Black buddy movie.

"Obviously he's not here, because we're having problems. We're going through a conscious un-buddying right now," Ryan said. "Because he'll be on tomorrow. We've separated. We've agreed to keep 24 hours apart. But when you see him, tell him I look happy. Tell him I'm happier than I've ever been."

The Nice Guys is set for release on 20 May, after which the actor can devote more time to his young family, due to a sparse schedule of upcoming roles.

Eva, who met Ryan on the set of The Place Beyond The Pines, is yet to comment on the couple's new arrival.