Children admiring a wax model of Susan Sarandon were left stunned recently, when the statue suddenly came to life.

As schoolchildren eyed what they thought was a simple likeness of the THELMA + LOUISE star, none of them suspected that the actress herself was the one standing there in New York City tourist attraction Madame Tussauds.

And as cameras rolled for the new children's prank series HI-JINKS, Sarandon continuously shocked youngsters by putting her arms around them every time they posed for a picture with what they thought was her statue.

The actress, who admits she was worried about terrifying the children too much, says she comes from a home full of pranksters.

She explains, "My kids always play pranks. We're full of pranksters in our house. Anything from putting (plastic wrap) over the toilet when you're going to sit down... A lot of the torture's psychological."