Elsa Pataky admits she and Chris Hemsworth are 'pushover' parents

She plays the beautiful and fearsome leader of the sirens (the mythical sea variety, that is) in her new Netflix show, Tidelands.

But Elsa Pataky admits her character Adrielle’s tough love approach is a far cry from how she behaves at home with her husband Chris Hemsworth and their three children, India, six, and four-year-old twins Sasha and Tristan.

“My kids know they can get everything from me,” she reveals to Yahoo Lifestyle. “I think we are the least strict parents ever.”

“I’m just the opposite to Adrielle… But think I need to bring a little part of Adrielle back with me into my family life.”

Indeed, Elsa’s character Adrielle is the ruthless leader of the supernatural “sirens” who is equally as fearsome as she is seductive.

And as part of the role, the 42-year-old actress shares a number of rather racy scenes with both men and women. Her children are banned from watching the show for now, however Elsa admits she isn’t too nervous about the day her kids will see her sex scenes on screen.

“When they get older, they’ll know about everything and have their own experiences… it is part of our work and part of our profession, but it will be interesting to see what they say,” the Fast Five star muses.

But she adds that it is still awkward nonetheless, as she laughs: “When I was watching with my brother… it was just [grimaces].”

While filming sex scenes can often be an uncomfortable experience for stars, Elsa and her co-star Aaron Jakubenko enjoyed filming it for the show.

“It was fun because it was different. There was so much behind what our characters wanted in that moment,” Elsa explains.”“So it was much more interesting than a sex scene because it was more than just love or sex that was being portrayed between them. So I think it was actually really fun to play it.”

Tidelands centres ex-con Cal Mcteer (Charlotte Best) who returns to her small fishing village just as a dead body washes up, and she begins to uncover the secrets of the town and its half-siren, half-human residents.

Tidelands – the first Australian original series for Netflix – is out now.

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