Freeform show “Siren,” which follows a small coastal town beset by dangerous mermaids, is now in its second season (Thursdays at 8 p.m.) Star Eline Powell who plays central mermaid Ryn, will be in Saturday’s Coney Island Mermaid Parade (her float will start moving at 1:30 p.m.). The Belgian-born actor spoke to The Post about all things mermaid.
Were you aware of the Mermaid Parade before this show?
I had no idea. When I started “Siren,” I started to see more mermaid [related events]. I was like, “There’s a mermaid parade? We have to be part of that!” It’s wonderful seeing the creativity.
How did you land on the mermaid accent you use for the series?
I’m a bit of a melting pot, I try to speak British but there’s some European lilt — a not so conventional one because I’m Belgian, from the Flemish part. Dutch was my mother language and I learned English and I speak French too. As with many things with Ryn, I feel like [the accent] is my playground. I added some Icelandic.
How did you learn to do an Icelandic accent?
I had this awesome tennis teacher when I was 12 who was Icelandic. He looked like a Viking, long hair and he was built like a rock and spoke with this accent. That left an impression. So a lot of that was due to him. And I looked up a lot of Bjork interviews. [The accent] is not quite what we’re used to. Not even Europeans know it well. I like the fact that not many people know it.
Do you actually swim for the underwater scenes?
I’ve really loved Season 2 because there’s way more underwater stuff. If we jump into an ocean, it is actually jumping into an ocean. For one scene, it was November [in Vancouver, where the show films] and frost was forming on the pier and the water was just black. But a lot of the time it’s in tanks with warm water. If you’re comfortable in the water, it’s a fun freeing experience.