Joseph Gordon-Levitt says being a father is ''the best'' job.

The 39-year-old actor has been spending more time at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, and has said he feels ''lucky'' to be able to use his time away from work to spend quality time with his wife Tasha McCauley and their two sons.

Speaking to Jimmy Fallon during an appearance on 'The Tonight Show', he said: ''I felt lucky I got to take some time off. Now I have two boys and it's the best. It's the best.''

And when Jimmy responded to say he ''always saw'' Joseph being a dad one day, the actor added: ''Thanks, man! That's one of the sweetest things you could say about a person.''

The '500 Days of Summer' star also credited the late-night comedian for his own inspiration in the fatherhood department, as he ''started crying'' when he watched a documentary in which Jimmy said being a father is like being a ''hero''.

He explained: ''I saw you in that documentary about dads that Bryce Dallas Howard made. I've been wanting to tell you this ever since I saw it.

''I saw it a few weeks ago and the question was, 'What is a dad?' And you were like, 'A dad is...' and you were looking for the right word, and you were like, 'a hero.' I just about started crying when you said that, man.

''Thinking about that I'm someone's dad now because I remember looking up to my dad in that exact same way. There's not really a lot of other people that you can grab them and [mimes hugging], you know what I mean?''

Meanwhile, Joseph recently said he has been ''having a blast'' amid the coronavirus lockdown.

He said: ''I'm here with my family having a blast together.

''It sounds weird to say that when you see people struggling with their health, what's happening with the economy and [a] weird polarisation where people are seeing what's happening in such different lights.

''That's all quite stressful, which is why I've been trying to focus on just doing something creative every day, staying productive and spending time with my family.''