Casting Directors, Wake Up- Robert Irwin’s DWTS Salsa Just Gave Us ‘Dirty Dancing 3’: Melbourne Nights

HELLO, HOLLYWOOD? Are you sleeping? Because Robert Irwin just salsa’d his way into Dirty Dancing destiny and if Lionsgate doesn’t swoop in to cast him in the remake, we riot.

Robert has quietly been redefining his public persona on Dancing With the Stars and what he’s done in three weeks has to be some of the most impressive work the show has seen in years. The 21-year-old conservationist and son of legend Steve Irwin came onto the Dancing With the Stars floor under the “zookeeper kid” moniker (not to mention, living in the shadows of his sister and season 21 of DWTS winner Bindi), but over the course of three weeks, he’s done something incredible. He’s reshaped that “zookeeper kid” idea into something entirely different. Now – I think he’s turned into an entertainer, a sex symbol, and humbly, a bona fide natural star.

To me though, that really became undeniable on last night’s TikTok Night. Yesterday, he and Witney Carson danced a salsa to Tommy Richman’s Million Dollar Baby and halfway through the song, Robert went full stripper. Irwin ripped his shirt off, did a body roll, and danced like he was born to do it with the kind of cool that left the judges scrambling to find words. Carrie Ann Inaba got visibly flustered, Derek Hough basically said the technique was stiff and then immediately had to backtrack because Derek Hough doesn’t know what to do when faced with Robert’s kinetic energy and force of will (which, honestly can you BLAME him?!)

Now that you’ve seen that thrilling performance seriously, let’s talk Dirty Dancing. Jennifer Grey has been very clear about the Dirty Dancing remake – it can NOT, and will NOT attempt to replace Patrick Swayze. The original worked, in no small part because of Patrick’s dancing, but it also worked because it found a perfect balance of innocence and naivety and bad-assery and sex appeal. The choreography wasn’t the classiest ballroom or a star studded judging table, but it was beautiful because Patrick and Jennifer Grey had a chemistry that you believed, they had a passion that was palpable, and it was that authenticity that made you buy it.

Robert has that. He’s not a polished professional ballroom dancer, but Dirty Dancing doesn’t need him to be. He has a spark, that made the Baby and Johnny pairing click in ways we didn’t expect because, honestly, Johnny Castles was just hot. Robert is a little bit boyish but he’s also got a natural confidence that is a very, very good facsimile of the irresistible charisma Swayze brought to the role. He’s sweet but he’s got this current of danger that runs just beneath the surface, which is really the DNA of Dirty Dancing, right? In addition to having the talent, skill, and range he’s shown on DWTS, just watching him dance makes me feel like he could be the guy who helps carry the torch forward without being a cheap echo of the original.

The rumored remake is reportedly set in the 1990s Catskills and features a soundtrack that ranges from retro to hip-hop, and well, that playground was made for Robert Irwin. Forget some vanilla casting decision, it’s time to open the floodgates. Week after week on DWTS he’s shattered the “wholesome wildlife kid” archetype and reimagined himself as the kind of man who can step on stage and make you question what the hell just happened to your heartbeat. Right there, y’all, right there. Robert Irwin is right there.

Jennifer, you’ve said you’ll know when it’s right, when the remake is going to “get it nailed down.” I am here to say, the nail is here. The answer is shirtless, twirling away at the end of the DWTS stage, grinning like a maniac as if he’s been having the time of his life for the past 90 minutes even though we all know he’s been eons more nervous than he’s letting on. He’s Baby AND Johnny. He’s everything we could ask for and more.

No one puts Robert Irwin in a corner. Cast him.