Hollywood actor John Travolta has shamelessly flaunted his soft nature by singing along to the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid.

The star - who made his name playing movie tough guys in films such as FaceOff and Pulp Fiction - recently took his eight-year-old daughter Ella to see the show, and surprised fellow theatre-goers with his in-depth knowledge of the show's musical numbers.

Travolta even arranged a special treat for the youngster, taking her and her pals backstage to meet the cast.

A source tells New York gossip column PageSix: "He was touching all the costumes, he looked amazed. He said he was way, way into the show. He stayed backstage for a while."

And Travolta's representative confirmed the actor is a big fan of The Little Mermaid, saying: "His daughter loves the show, so he knows it well."

Perhaps Travolta should team up with former glamour model and now underwater wench Jordan.