After stripping down to his briefs for an ad campaign for Australian underwear brand Bonds, Robert Irwin has caught the eye of Hollywood bigwigs who hope he’ll become just as powerful of a cultural import as his late “Crocodile Hunter” father, Steve Irwin.

“Everyone is buzzing about how hot Robert is, his name is now in the mix in all sorts of conversations as far as what projects he would be good for,” an industry insider exclusively tells In Touch. “He and his family have such a great reputation for being really down to earth and hardworking and just generally good people, so there’s a lot of talk about creating a new series around him.” 

Since the ads went viral, fans expressed their shock at Rob’s transformation and almost couldn’t believe it was him. 

“Robert Irwin thirst trap was not on my 2025 bingo sheet but here we are,” one social media user wrote.

“Wow. I know he was born famous but he could be a model without the famous roots,” another added.

“This is the 2025 version of the day we realized Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) got hot,” a third joked.

“He has created a huge splash with these new photos,” the source adds. “People can hardly believe that he’s only 21-years-old, he suddenly looks so grown up.” 

Like his father, Robert’s primarily a conservationist and zookeeper working at his family’s Australia Zoo, which his widowed mother Terri now owns and operates. He has a host of other pursuits though, mostly entertainment-oriented, including wildlife photography, authoring a children’s book, TV presenting and making appearances to promote the zoo on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, on which he’s appeared 11 times, and acting. Most recently, fans got to know the young man better on season 34 of Dancing With the Stars.

The source adds that with the added “hot” dimension to his persona, “It’s a slam dunk that he will be getting more modelling campaigns and if he could very well end up on the big screen too, he certainly has that star quality.”

Mom Terri, 60, gave her thoughts about all of the attention her son’s been getting since the pics were released in an interview with Stellar. “Steve used to say to me, ‘It wasn’t until I started filming and became the Crocodile Hunter that girls looked at me twice,” she recalled, referring to her late husband’s sudden rise to international fame. “He was 30, by the way, when we got married. So he goes, ‘Where were they?’”

“So on one hand, cool for Robert to have flattering attention, and on the other hand, it’s a lot,” she added.

The insider says, “For a long time, he was dating Heath Ledger‘s niece [Rory Buckley], but they’ve split up now and he’s single, so there’s even been some discussion about centering a dating show around him looking for love in America.” 

“He’s now on all the party invite lists as well, when he comes to L.A. next it will be his oyster.”