Bindi Irwin: ‘Acting Is Something I’m Extremely Passionate About’

Bindi Irwin has been keeping busy, since the passing of her father Steve Irwin in 2006, and it seems there’s no limit to the projects The Crocodile Hunter‘s daughter is willing to take on, both in show business as well as in the field of animal conservation. Stepping away from the children’s shows that have occupied her pre-teen years, Ms. Irwin is now stepping up to explore greater challenges, starting with a stint on Dancing with the Stars.

“I am absolutely thrilled. I can’t tell you how excited I am,” Bindi said in an interview with People magazine. “I think that it is going to be a truly unbelievable new experience. I can’t wait to see what is to come.”

This won’t be the first time Ms. Irwin has appeared on television. In fact, she has earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on Bindi, the Jungle Girl, which was a wildlife documentary, much like the work for which her father was known.

Bindi followed that up by joining her brother in Australia Zoo, which was an online series dedicated to the times the siblings spent with their father.

“We never want Dad’s message to die,” the future Dancing with the Stars contestant said. “It’s wonderful that we’re able to carry on in his footsteps and keep his message alive.”

“It’s great to play with the animals … and to know that they were the same animals that dad was brought up with, it’s pretty special,” added Ms. Irwin.

Bindi reveals that show business is something that calls to her, even if animal welfare and nature conservation are issues that will always be her first loves.

“I see my filming career as an opportunity to get the message of conservation out to an even greater audience. Acting is something I’m extremely passionate about.”

Bindi added that she hopes her Dancing with the Stars appearances will enable her to provide an alternative to some of the other role models available through television and social media.

“I hope I can help other girls realize that they don’t have to do things just because everyone else is doing them. I like dressing modestly, let’s put it like that. There can be a lot of pressure on girls to dress the way they wouldn’t normally dress: on social media, at school, among friends.”

Ms. Irwin revealed to ABC News that she hopes her father is watching and that he will be proud of her as she performs on Dancing with the Stars.

“Dad was that one person who no matter what he did in life he just took it by storm, and he was so passionate and just really lived in the moment,” Bindi said. “Whatever the opposite of a procrastinator is, that was him… and I think I kind of inherited a little bit of that. I’m hoping to make dad proud.”

[Featured image: Bindi Irwin courtesy of Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images]