She's the spitting image of her late father, has inherited his passion for wildlife, and now 11-year-old Bindi Irwin is following ‘Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's footsteps into Hollywood-style movies. Bindi made her feature film acting debut in Free Willy: Escape from Pirates Cove, which was released recently on DVD as the fourth movie based on the 1990's franchise about a young boy helping free an Orca trapped in captivity.
Free Willy, however, is a new story about an Australian girl (Bindi) helping a baby Orca trapped at her grandfather's theme park on the shores of South Africa. Growing up with a larger-than-life personality like Australian adventurer Steve, who died in 2006 after a stingray attack, seems like a natural evolution for Bindi.
She came into this world camera-ready when her father filmed her birth. Growing up, she often was featured on his shows such as The Crocodile Hunter and The Croc Files on US TV network Animal Planet. For a while, Bindi even had her own kids documentary series - Bindi the Jungle Girl.
At his funeral, in front of a crowd of 5,000 people and 300 million TV viewers around the world, Bindi, then eight, delivered an impassioned speech about the daddy she called "my hero".
"He's still my hero. He taught me a lot about documentary filming and to be comfortable around cameras. I used that during the filming of this movie because I was not scared to be around cameras."
While her late father's early instructions helped her feel at ease, it was her Free Willy co-star Beau Bridges - who plays her grandfather Gus - who helped Bindi to begin laying the foundation for the building blocks of acting. "I was a bit nervous about learning the lines but Beau taught me how to make them into a conversation," said Bindi. "He gave me Acting: The First Six Lessons on audio tape and a book I'm reading right now."
Free Willy appears tailored for Bindi. Her character, Kirra, is the daughter of a zoo veterinarian (as was Irwin) who interacts with all sorts of exotic animals. Kirra also lost a parent at young age. But Bindi said she did not feel like she was without her father on the Free Willy shoot.
"There is so much footage of my dad out there," said Bindi. "While we were in South Africa, every morning we'd watch him on Animal Planet, then go and film."
While filming, Bindi was with her mother Terri and brother Robert, 6. The trio lives at the Irwin-owned Australia Zoo, which was made popular on The Crocodile Hunter.
Bindi said her experience filming Free Willy has left her wanting to do more acting, but she would like her next project to include "a lot more wildlife".
"I feel like I'm nothing without wildlife. They are the stars. I feel awkward without them." She refers to herself as being "hatched" rather than born, and can easily chat about facts and statistics of just about any animal. She is now collecting signatures for a petition to save the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, which is under threat of being strip mined.
Her passion for wildlife has been passed down to her from her father, whose legacy she wants to continue. "He taught me to love and respect animals and treat them how you would like to be treated. I really want to carry on in his footsteps and pick up where he left off."
