Dante Roman Basco (born August 29, 1975)[1] is an American actor. He is known for his role as Rufio, the leader of the Lost Boys in Steven Spielberg's Hook, Dolph in the cult film But I'm a Cheerleader, the lead character Ben Mercado in the hit indie film The Debut, and for voicing the titular protagonist of American Dragon: Jake Long and Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Dante Basco | |
|---|---|
 Basco in May 2024 | |
| Born | Dante Roman Basco August 29, 1975 Pittsburg, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse |
Alice Rehemutula (m. 2023) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Dion Basco (brother) Ella Jay Basco (niece) |
His voice acting roles include Zuko's grandson General Iroh II in The Legend of Korra, Quoc Wong in The Proud Family, Jingmei in The Boondocks, Tuck in Generator Rex, Scorpion in Ultimate Spider-Man, and Jai Kell in Star Wars Rebels.
Early life
editBasco was born in Pittsburg, California, and raised in Cerritos and Paramount, California to Filipino parents.[2] He has four siblings, including actor Dion Basco.[3] In the mid-1980s, he and his brothers formed a breakdancing crew and worked as street performers.[4] He attended Orange County High School of the Arts[5] in the Music and Theatre Conservatory and graduated in 1993.
In 1998, Basco co-founded the Da Poetry Lounge, a slam and spoken poetry venue in Hollywood.[6]
Career
editHe began his acting career with minor television roles. His breakthrough performance was when he appeared as the leader Rufio of the Lost Boys in Steven Spielberg's 1991 film Hook with Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman.[7]
In 2017, Basco produced a Kickstarter-funded short film, Bangarang, about the character Rufio. The film was directed by Jonah Feingold.[8]
Basco streams gameplay on Twitch.[9]
Basco released his memoir From Rufio to Zuko through the independent publisher Not a Cult.[9]
Avatar: Braving the Elements, an official Nickelodeon companion podcast to Avatar: The Last Airbender, premiered on June 22, 2021. Basco and Janet Varney (voice of Korra) host the podcast, which follows them as they rewatch the series, discuss each episode's key moments and behind-the scenes information, and feature special guests.[10]
Voice acting
edit
Basco has done voice acting for many animated productions, including Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Jai Kell in Star Wars Rebels and Jake Long in American Dragon: Jake Long. Additional roles include Kwok Wong in The Proud Family, Matt Martin/Kewl Breeze in the short-lived animated series Zevo-3, and General Iroh in The Legend of Korra.[11][12]
He contributed additional voices for Aion, Mortal Kombat X, and Saints Row. He also voiced Shingo in the Skate series and Seeing Farther in the Call of Juarez series.[12]
Personal life
editOn April 19, 2023, Basco became engaged to Uyghur[13][14] actress and television host Alice Rehemutula.[15][16] They married in September 2023 in China. In May 2024, Rehemutula announced her pregnancy with their first child. [17]
Filmography
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (November 2022) |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Cold Dog Soup | Chinese Boy | |
| 1991 | The Perfect Weapon | Jimmy Ho | |
| 1991 | Hook | Rufio | |
| 1995 | A Goofy Movie | Additional Voices | |
| 1995 | Fist of the North Star | Bat | Direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Fakin' da Funk | Julian Lee | |
| 1999 | But I'm a Cheerleader | Dolph | |
| 2000 | The Debut | Ben Mercado | |
| 2001 | Extreme Days | Corey Ng | |
| 2003 | Love Don't Cost a Thing | Spoken Word Artist | |
| 2003 | Biker Boyz | Philly | |
| 2006 | Take the Lead | Ramos | |
| 2008 | Nite Tales: The Movie | Gerard | |
| 2009 | Blood and Bone | Pinball | Direct-to-video |
| 2011 | Subject: I Love You | Nicky | |
| 2014 | JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time | Karate Kid | Voice, direct-to-video[18] |
| 2014 | Cesar Chavez | Filipino Striker | |
| 2014 | Bad Asses | Gangly Asian | |
| 2014 | Murder101 | D. Phillips | |
| 2016 | Jarhead 3: The Siege | Blake | |
| 2019 | The Creatress | Franklin | |
| 2021 | The Fabulous Filipino Brothers | Douglas "Duke" Abasta | Also director |
| 2021 | Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild | Aiden | Voice[19][18] |
| 2025 | Aang: The Last Airbender | Zuko | Voice[20] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Wonder Years | Eddie, Kid #3 | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Santa Barbara | Amado | 4 episodes |
| 1988 | Dare to Say No | Asian Kid | Educational short film for EPCOT |
| 1989 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Luis | Episode: "15 and Getting Straight" |
| 1989 | Highway To Heaven | Champ Hopkins | Episode: "Choices" |
| 1989 | Booker | Ping Pong | Episode: "Razing Arrizola" |
| 1990 | The New Adam 12 | Manko | Episode: "Kid Kop" |
| 1990 | The Earth Day Special | Kid (uncredited) | |
| 1993 | Raven | Lucas | Episode: "The Journey" |
| 1993–94 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Sammy | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | 500 Nations | Additional Voices | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Kevin | Episode: "Cold Feet, Hot Body" |
| 1995 | Alien Nation: Body and Soul | Trash #2 | Television film |
| 1996 | Nash Bridges | Jimmy Chang | Episode: "Home Invasion" |
| 1997 | Riot[21] | Jeff Lee | Television film Segment: "Gold Mountain" |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Robbie Hawkins | Episode: "Random Acts" |
| 1998 | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | Rudy Hernandez | Episode: "Bright Lights/Magic Mightyman/The Student/Scribbles/County Mystery" |
| 1998 | Moesha | Marco | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | Promised Land | Tito | Episode: "Out of Bounds" |
| 1999 | Viper | Rishi Lama | Episode: "Holy Terror" |
| 1999 | Undressed | Jake | 5 episodes |
| 2000 | The Steve Harvey Show | Lee | Episode: "Guess Who's Not Coming to Counseling" |
| 2001 | A Kitty Bobo Show | Kitty Bobo | Voice, pilot |
| 2001 | The Chronicle | Noodles | Episode: "Here There Be Dragons" |
| 2002 | Providence | Justin Kim | Episode: "All the King's Men" |
| 2002 | The Proud Family | Quoc Wong | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Kim Possible | Fukushima | Voice, episode: "Exchange" |
| 2004 | Johnny Bravo | Filipino, Man #3 | Voice, episode: "Win an El Toro Guapo/Witch-ay Woman"[18] |
| 2004 | That's So Raven | Phil | 4 episodes |
| 2005–07 | American Dragon: Jake Long | Jake Long | Voice, main role |
| 2005 | Lilo & Stitch: The Series | Voice, episode: "Morpholomew" | |
| 2005–08 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Prince Zuko | Voice, main role (50 episodes)[18] |
| 2006 | Entourage | Fukijama | Episode: "What About Bob?" |
| 2007 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Madrid | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | The Boondocks | Jingmei | Voice, episode: "The Red Ball" |
| 2010 | Dark Blue | June Bug | Episode: "Jane Wayne" |
| 2010 | Zevo-3 | Matt Martin / Kewl Breeze | Voice, 6 episodes[18] |
| 2010 | Firebreather | Kenny Rogers | Voice, television film[18] |
| 2010 | CSI: Miami | Ruben Franco | Episode: "Happy Birthday" |
| 2010–12 | Generator Rex | Tuck | Voice, 3 episodes[18] |
| 2011 | Prime Suspect | Bounce | Episode: "Carnivorous Sheep" |
| 2012 | Hawaii Five-0 | Nicky Chang | Episode: "Pu'olo (The Package)" |
| 2012–14 | The Legend of Korra | General Iroh | Voice, 6 episodes[18] |
| 2013 | Ultimate Spider-Man | Scorpion | Voice, 2 episodes[18] |
| 2014 | Star Wars Rebels | Jai Kell | Voice, 4 episodes[18] |
| 2018 | A Million Little Things | Cory | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | We Bare Bears | Cheddar | Voice, episode: "Baby Orphan Ninja Bears" |
| 2019 | Drunk History | The Rabbit | Episode: "The Rabbit" |
| 2019–20 | Victor & Valentino | Javier | Voice, 2 episodes[18] |
| 2020 | Carmen Sandiego | Spinkick | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Trese | Bagyon Kulimlim | Voice, 2 episodes[18] |
| 2021 | Robot Chicken | Squall Leonhart, Looky Loo, Zuko | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Little Demon | Ignatius | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Blindspotting | Himself | Season 2, Episode 4: “By Hook or by Crook” |
| 2023 | Almost Paradise | Jace Vargas | Season 2, Recurring Role |
| 2024 | Um, Actually | himself | Season 9, Episode 12 |
Web series
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–19 | Nostalgia Critic | Himself | 6 episodes |
| 2016–2019 | Camp Camp | Billy "Snake" Niksslip | Voice |
| 2020 | Let's Read Homestuck | Rufioh Nitram | Voice, episode: "Act 6 Intermission 3 - Part 7" (The character of Rufioh Nitram is based off of Dante Basco's previous role as Rufio in Hook) |
| 2020 | Death Battle | Zuko | Voice, episode: "Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki (Avatar vs My Hero Academia)"[22] |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Saints Row | Stilwater's Residents |
| 2006 | Call of Juarez | Sees Farther |
| 2006 | Scarface: The World Is Yours | Additional Voices |
| 2006 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Zuko[18] |
| 2007 | Skate | Shingo |
| 2007 | Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth | Zuko[18] |
| 2008 | Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno | |
| 2008 | Aion | Additional Voices |
| 2009 | Terminator Salvation | Resistance Soldiers[18] |
| 2009 | Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood | Seeing Farther |
| 2009 | Skate 2 | Shingo |
| 2010 | Final Fantasy XIII | Cocoon Inhabitants[23] |
| 2010 | Skate 3 | Shingo |
| 2011 | Nicktoons MLB | Prince Zuko[18] |
| 2015 | Mortal Kombat X | Additional Voices[24] |
Awards
edit- Young Artist Award – Hook
- Won – Best Ensemble Cast
- Nominated – Best Young Actor
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Dante R Basco, Born 08/29/1975". California Birth Index. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ Farris, Christopher (February 11, 2019). "These Filipinos Are the Voices of Modern Cartoon and Anime Characters". Esquire. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ Jermel-Lynn Quillopo (22 March 2013). "Social Encore: Kinetic's perspective". Honolulu Pulse. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ Alter, Ethan (September 24, 2021). "Dante Basco reflects on diversity in Hollywood as a child star: 'No one even knew what a Filipino was'". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ Catherine Gewertz (December 26, 1992). "The Fine Art of Fame". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Yu, Timothy (2021-03-11). The Cambridge Companion to Twenty-First-Century American Poetry. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-63621-6.
- ^ Gabi Duncan (12 August 2014). "Hook Actor Dante Basco Remembers Robin Williams With Touching Video and Letter". E!. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ Ada Tsend (28 June 2017). "Remember Rufio in 'Hook'? The actor is trying to keep his cult character's legacy alive". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ a b Oller, Jacob (2020-07-10). "Avatar: The Last Airbender's Dante Basco on 'tango' of doing live, audience-driven Twitch show". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
- ^ Dar, Taimur (June 23, 2021). "INTERVIEW: Janet Varney and Dante Basco talk BRAVING THE ELEMENTS for the Last Airbender Podcast". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on 2021-06-23. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ Talia Baugnon (30 September 2014). "Dante Basco talks Hollywood at LMU". Los Angeles Loyolan. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ a b Christopher John Farley (19 Jun 2012). "'The Legend of Korra' Creators Preview the Season Finale and as Karate Kid In Justice League Trapped In Time". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ sidreddy (2020-06-22). "Alice Rehemutula | Filmmaker". SHOUTOUT LA. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ "Meet Trailblazer Alice Rehemutula". VoyageLA. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Basco, Dante (2023-04-20). "Look what went down in #Paris… We got engaged!!! 💍 I really got to surprise her in the city of love! #eiffeltower 4/19/2023". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ Gray, Lauren (2021-10-23). "Dante Basco Played Rufio In "Hook." See Him Now At 46". Yahoo Life. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
- ^ Rehemutula, Alice (2023-09-16). "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Dante Basco (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 26, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Schuhart, Jonah (July 16, 2021). "Netflix's Trailer For Monster Hunter: Legends Of The Guild Teases Monstrous Action". Looper. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
- ^ "Instagram".
- ^ Terry Kelleher (29 April 1997). "Picks and Pans Review: Riot". People. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "DEATH BATTLE! Zuko VS Shoto Todoroki (Avatar VS My Hero Academia)". Rooster Teeth. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Final Fantasy XIII (2010 Video Game)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ Brian Chard [@bcharred] (April 14, 2015). "Huge thanks to the stellar MKX voice actors: Troy @TroyBakerVA (Shinnok/EBlack/Fujin), Ronald M. Banks (Quan Chi); Ashly Burch (Cassie)..." (Tweet). Retrieved April 21, 2015 – via Twitter.
Brian Chard [@bcharred] (April 14, 2015). "Danielle Nicolet (Jacqui/Sareena); Fred Tatasciore (Tremor); and Grey DeLisle and Dante Basco with some extra VO help. You're all amazing!" (Tweet). Retrieved April 21, 2015 – via Twitter.
External links
edit- Dante Basco at IMDb
- Dante Basco at AllMovie
- Dante Basco on Tumblr
- Dante Basco on Twitch
