'DWTS' champ Robert Irwin makes movie debut with special 'Zootopia 2' role

After his Dancing With the Stars win, Robert Irwin is finding more ways to carry on his late father’s legacy.

The 21-year-old son of late Australian conservationist Steve Irwin has made his movie debut in Disney’s Zootopia 2, voicing a Koala hilariously named Robert Furwin.

Speaking to People magazine at the film’s November 13 premiere, Robert shared how “surreal” it felt to play an animal long considered a national symbol of Australia’s unique wildlife and natural heritage.

“The fact that I get to be part of a film that is all about celebrating animals — it's about celebrating the reptiles, the snakes, just as much as the cute and cuddly bunnies and koalas. I just love that,” he told the outlet. 

Robert also spoke to Entertainment Tonight, emphasising that koalas remain endangered in Australia, and he hopes the film helps people reconnect with wildlife.

Irwin hit the film’s Los Angeles premiere alongside his Dancing with the Stars partner Witney Carson, days before the pair won the competition on November 25.

For Robert, even his DWTS stint was a way to carry his family’s conservation legacy forward. And his elder sister, Bindi, got the ball rolling when she also won DWTS back in 2016.

“I remember just watching her having this experience, lifting that Mirrorball, and when she lifted that trophy, she lifted the message that we represent, the conservation legacy, the legacy of my dad, and to keep that going is the honour of my lifetime,” he told Access Hollywood.

Robert has previously lent his voice for a 2020 episode of the children’s TV series Bluey. However, Zootopia 2 marks his first movie role, which places him among a long list of A-list stars returning or joining the franchise, including Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Shakira, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Danny Trejo, Macaulay Culkin and more.