Josh Duhamel and Fergie "want to start a family soon."

The 'Transformers' actor and the Black Eyed Peas singer - who wed in January 2009 - are keen to have their first baby in the near future and are starting to consider which of their friends and family can give them the most help.

Josh said: "We're hoping to start a family soon, so you also have to think about who's going to have your wife's back, and who's going to be good with the kids. These sorts of things come into play. I think as you get older, you start to appreciate what real Friendship is and how rare it can be."

Fortunately, the 37-year-old actor has a close group of pals around him, and feels lucky to have stayed friends with them for so many years.

He told Britain's Cosmopolitan magazine: "I've got some great friends who I've known forever - some from kindergarten, some from school and a couple from college. And one thing that's been important for me to make sure in the transition from young, immature man into adulthood is that my friends have my back. Maybe it's because of who I'm with, or what I do but I'm careful about hanging out with people who have my - and our - best interests at heart, people who really care about me and my wife and are not using me to help them in any way. I have some people like that in my life and they have never been more important to me than right now."