Robert Irwin has long acted as a voice for animals. Now he’s actually voicing an animal.

The 17-year-old son of the late conservationist Steve Irwin is lending his voice to a character on the popular animated children’s TV show Bluey.

“I’ve had so many hilarious and awesome and scary and fun and exciting adventures with animals. But I’ve never gotten to actually be an animal before or be the voice of an animal,” he tells The Associated Press from his native Australia.

The Brisbane-produced Bluey, which centres on an eponymous 6-year-old Blue Heeler pup, her sister Bingo and their parents, Chilli and Bandit, has in just a few years grown into a worldwide phenomenon.

The show has been praised for its ability to speak honestly about parenting and childhood, with realistic dialogue and creative games. It won an International Emmy Kids Award for best preschool programme. It’s available on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and DisneyNOW.

In the upcoming season two episode called The Quiet Game, Irwin voices a clerk named Alfie on his first day at work in a toy store when Bluey, Bingo and Bandit come in looking for a birthday gift for a friend of the kids.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2021