Australian actor Guy Pearce and Game of Thrones’ ‘Melisandre’ to have a baby

Aussie actor Guy Pearce has taken to social media to announce his partner, Game of Thrones star Clarice van Houten, is pregnant with their first child.

Former Neighbours actor Pearce, 48, first made a name for himself on the big screen with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and L.A. Confidential (1997).

He has most recently starred in the ABC’s Jack Irish series.

Carice van Houten, 38, is renowned for her part as the mysterious and scheming Melisandre in HBO’s epic blockbuster series Game of Thrones.

One episode of the series saw Houten’s character giving birth to a magic-born “shadow baby”, used to assassinate a would-be king.

The reference has prompted pre-emptive Tweets from both Houten and Pearce.

Pearce’s past 18-year marriage, to psychologist Kate Mestitz, ended in October last year.

He had previously remarked that he was “not consistent enough to be a parent - I blow too hot and cold. Kate jokes that we'd end up on the news for throwing a child out of the window”.

Pearce has also starred in Oscar-nominated The King’s Speech (2010) and Alien prequel Prometheus (2012).