Chris O’Dowd has revealed that he has taken to fatherhood well.

The IT Crowd star became a dad in January when wife Dawn O’Porter gave birth to the couple’s first child, son Art.

He told the Daily Mirror: “It’s very chilled. It feels very natural which I didn’t think it would. I thought it would be more of a dramatic change.”

Chris continued: “It is fantastic – it’s a role that you can’t in any way prepare for, but I have been really loving it. It (the birth) was an incredible moment. It is a hard thing to describe.

“I found initially in those moments right after the birth, which was really dramatic and scary, my initial concern was that Dawn was OK. Almost secondarily you are dealing with the fact that this new person is in the world. Then five minutes later you are, ‘Oh my God’ and holding him in your arms.

“You feel suddenly like you are an antique-shop owner holding this incredibly fragile thing in your hands.”

Chris O'Dowd and Dawn O'Porter
Dawn O’Porter and Chris O’Dowd (Anthony Devlin/PA)

There is one thing about parenthood that the funnyman finds challenging – the dirty nappies.

“He is an absolute sweetheart – but I could deal with less of my stuff being covered in s***. You instantly become 80 per cent less precious about your clothes when you have a child,” Chris admitted.

“I feel if I ever need him to do a poo all I need to do is put a fresh nappy on him. Every time I change his nappy… he poos.”

Chris, who was born in Boyle, Ireland, said he cannot wait to show his baby his home country – in person and on screen through his show, Moone Boy.

“We are going back in a month or so, so Art can meet the family,” the actor said. “It is unlikely we will ever settle in Boyle so I can show (Moone Boy) to Art and he will know a bit about where I grew up. It’s a great comedic ­documentary of my childhood.”