Matthew Settle is having problems with fatherhood on Gossip Girl as Rufus Humphrey, whose children, Dan and Jenny in particular, are proving to be handful.

But the actor is "thrilled" to be an expectant father in real life.

"I'm not ready. I don't think I'll ever be ready," he told People magazine at Tavern on the Green on Tuesday night. "But I'm thrilled."

Settle and his wife, model Naama Nativ, enjoyed a dinner to benefit the Tribeca Film Institute after attending a screening of Quantum of Solace.

"We're having a girl," added pregnant Nativ, who also was in You Don't Mess with the Zohan. "It's going amazingly. I love it. He's very happy, very excited."

In describing the feeling of being a first-time parent, the Gossip Girl star invoked one of Jack Nicholson's most memorable As Good As It Gets quotes.

"Before you have a child, everything is about you," Matthew Settle explained. "But my wife, and us having a child, makes me want to be a better man."

While art is known to imitate life, in this case, the dad-to-be claims that his character on Gossip Girl, Rufus, "is helping inform my real life."

But when it comes to picking a name for the baby, they are still undecided: "We're not sure yet ... we'll see," said Nativ. "I want Angelica."

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.