Stranger Things star David Harbour said becoming a stepfather to wife Lily Allen’s two daughters has changed his life.

The US actor, 46, married British singer Allen, 36, in Las Vegas last year.

He is stepfather to Ethel Mary, nine, and Marnie Rose, eight, Allen’s children with ex-husband Sam Cooper.

Ellen DeGeneres Season 18
David Harbour said becoming a stepfather to wife Lily Allen’s children has changed his life (Michael Rozman/ Warner Bros/PA)

Harbour, who stars in upcoming Marvel blockbuster Black Widow, said he now realises why people start families.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he said: “They’re British and I’m this cheese-fed American man and they really do like the fact they have an extra jungle gym.

“They crawl all over me, they make it their job to try to hurt me as much as they can. My lower back is destroyed.”

He added: “Of course I love it. I have never experienced this kind of – I was always a single guy, who has been a bachelor for a long time, I’ve been an artist, I wanted to travel the world and do my work.

“And I never really wanted to have kids. And I get it now, why everybody has kids. Because it’s kind of like the meaning of life, you pass the torch to these other individuals.

“And you love them more than you could ever love yourself, and I never thought that was possible with anyone, I love myself a lot.

“But it’s such a beautiful thing. My heart is just broken wide open and I have a new love I never had.”

Harbour – who plays police chief Jim Hopper on Netflix sci-fi drama Stranger Things – said one of his stepdaughters is a fan of the show but was not impressed by his role and told him: “Everybody likes all the other characters, they don’t really like you.”

The actor also discussed his wedding to Allen in September in Las Vegas in a ceremony officiated by an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Speaking to Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, who was filling in as guest host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Harbour said the family only spent a day and a half in Nevada and celebrated their nuptials with burgers from fast food joint In-N-Out.