Thankfully, Irwin was able to escape the crocodile’s clutches in the end.

Robert Irwin once got ‘death-rolled’ by a crocodile named Jimmy Fallon: ‘700 pounds on top of me’

Thankfully, Irwin was able to escape the crocodile's clutches in the end.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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May 5, 2026 5:20 p.m. ET

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Robert Irwin; a crocodile; Jimmy Fallon. Credit:

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty; Getty; Art Streiber/NBC

- Robert Irwin once got "death-rolled" by a crocodile named Jimmy Fallon.

- The *DWTS* alum recalled being "stuck underneath him with my arm hanging out" on Monday's episode of *The Tonight Show*.

- The crocodile Fallon eventually rolled the other way and Irwin was able to escape his clutches.

Robert Irwin is remembering the time Jimmy Fallon tried to kill him. Jimmy Fallon the crocodile, that is.

The *Dancing With the Stars** *winner and wildlife conservationist recalled his experience getting “death-rolled” by the aforementioned 14-foot-long reptile on Monday’s episode of *The Tonight Show*.

“I named this crocodile Jimmy Fallon, like, years ago, and he’s now what we call a boss croc,” Irwin told human Jimmy Fallon on the show. “He’s huge, right?”

Robert Irwin on 'The Tonight Show' with host Jimmy Fallon on May 4.

Todd Owyoung/NBC

Fallon, eager to defend his namesake, interjected to note that the crocodile is actually “normal size,” it’s just that “as you get older, you start to put some pounds on,” adding, “I know what it’s like.”

A laughing Irwin then explained that he’s very aware of just how much crocodile Jimmy Fallon weighs because he was once crushed underneath him while trying to study the  creature.

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“We research crocodiles in the wild to better conserve them, right? The way you do that — my dad came up with this — is you actually have to jump on them, right?” he said, referencing his late Crocodile Hunter father, Steve Irwin.

“So I jumped on the back of Jimmy Fallon… and, get this, he death-rolled me,” he continued. “So I’m stuck underneath him with my arm hanging out. I’ve got like, probably, I don’t know, maybe 700 pounds on top of me? And I’m just like, ‘What do I do?’”

The crocodile luckily “rolled back the other way” eventually, and Irwin was able to slip away to safety, he recounted.

“I was fine,” he said, “but he’s a goer, Jimmy. He’s a goer.”

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Earlier in their interview, Irwin also spoke about hosting the upcoming *DWTS* spinoff *Dancing With the Stars: the Next Pro** *which, as its title suggests, follows a group of performers as they compete for a spot on the next season of the reality dance competition.

“We shot it in Brisbane, so right at Australia Zoo,” he said, referring to his family's wildlife conservation park. “There’s even an episode that may or may not take place with some of my animals back at Australia Zoo.”

We’ll all just have to wait and see if Jimmy Fallon — the crocodile — makes an appearance. Watch Irwin discuss getting attacked by reptile Fallon in the clip above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Late”