Jared Leto admits it would be "beautiful" if he discovered he had a secret child

He said: "You never know. Someone could always come up to a show and give me a little surprise visit. 'Dad?' In a way, that would be kind of beautiful.

"What an incredible surprise that would be!"

Jared joked the mix of activities he does is "designed to distract people, so no one asks about the marriage I've been in for 10 years and the two kids I have in Arizona."

The star isn't thought to be dating anyone at the moment but insists he would try to keep such information secret anyway.

He said: "Even if I was in a relationship or maybe if I was having kids, I don't know if I would share that information publicly.

"You know what I've learned about women? I know absolutely nothing about women.

"The older I get, it's just people. I just see people."

But the 44-year-old star - who plays The Joker in the upcoming comic book movie - admitted he is yet to decide whether he wants to tie the knot in the future.

When asked if he is planning to marry one day, he told Rolling Stone magazine: "I don't think there's a definitive decision that I've made."

Jared has always been vague about his childhood in interviews, and admits he learned to lie about his personal life after reading that River Phoenix - who died aged 23 in 1993 - did the same thing.

He said: "I lied about it so much, I don't know what the truth is. I remember River Phoenix saying in an interview that he tried to lie as much as possible, and I just took that approach ever since."