Dante R. Basco (born August 29, 1975) is an American film, television and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Rufio, the leader of the Lost Boys in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

's ''

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

'', and Julian Lee in '' Fakin' da Funk'', and for his many voice acting roles, most notably as

Prince Zuko Prince (later Fire Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMart ...

from

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', General Iroh II, Zuko's grandson, in ''

The Legend of Korra ''The Legend of Korra'' (abbreviated as TLOK), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Korra'' or simply ''Korra'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelode ...

'', Shingo in EA's '' Skate.'', Jake Long from

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

's '' American Dragon: Jake Long'', Fukushima in

Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated Action comedy TV series, action comedy-Adventure fiction, adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The Kim Possible (character), title character is a teen ...

, Kwok Wong in '' the Proud Family'', Jingmei in ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

'', Kenny Rodgers in Firebreather, Tuck in ''

Generator Rex ''Generator Rex'' is an American animated science fiction television series created by Man of Action for Cartoon Network, with John Fang of Cartoon Network Studios serving as supervising director. It was inspired by the comic '' M. Rex'', publish ...

'',

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

in ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...

'', Jai Kell in ''

Star Wars Rebels ''Star Wars Rebels'' is an American 3D animated science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation and set in the ''Star Wars'' universe. It takes place over a decade after '' Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'' and progressing ...

'', Cheddar in ''

We Bare Bears ''We Bare Bears'' is an American animated sitcom created by Daniel Chong for Cartoon Network. The show follows three bear brothers, Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear, and their awkward attempts at integrating with the human world in the San Francisc ...

'', Javier in ''

Victor and Valentino ''Victor and Valentino'' is an American animated television series created by Diego Molano for Cartoon Network. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The series follows the titular duo, two half-brothers staying with their grandmother in the ...

'', and Spin Kick from ''

Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a series of computer games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 '' Where in the World ...

''.

Early life

Basco was born in

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is part of the Sacramento–San Joaquin R ...

, and raised in Cerritos and

Paramount, California Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 54,098, down from 55,266 at the 2000 census. Paramount is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area and is bo ...

. He has four siblings, including actor

Dion Basco Dion may refer to: People Ancient *Dion (mythology), a king in Laconia and husband of Iphitea, the daughter of Prognaus *Dion of Syracuse (408–354 BC), ancient Greek politician * Dio of Alexandria, first century BC, ancient Greek philosop ...

. In Dante's early years, he was part of the Street Freaks

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

crew with his brothers. He attended

Orange County High School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, culi ...

in the Music and Theatre Conservatory and graduated in 1993.

Career

He got into acting taking on minor roles in television. Basco's breakout performance was when he appeared as the leader Rufio of the Lost Boys in

's 1991 film ''

'' with

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

and

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

. A punk band was later named after this character. In June 2017, he agreed with Jonah Feingold to work on a new film together, ''Bangarang'', about the character Rufio. The development of the project started with a Kickstarter campaign. Basco streams gameplay on Twitch. Basco released his memoir ''From Rufio to Zuko'' through the independent publisher, Not a Cult. ''Avatar: Braving the Elements'', an official

companion podcast to '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', premiered on June 22, 2021, hosted by Basco and Janet Varney. The podcast is an episode-by-episode deep dive into the Avatarverse with special guest appearances.

Voice acting

Basco has done voice acting for many animated productions, including

Zuko Prince (later Fire Lord) Zuko (), also known as the Blue Spirit, is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender''. Created by Eric Coleman and designed by series creators Michael Dante DiMarti ...

in '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'', Jai Kell in ''

'' and

Jake Long Jake Edward Long (born May 9, 1985) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Michigan, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins first overall in the 2008 NFL ...

in '' American Dragon: Jake Long''. He also voice acted Kwok Wong in '' The Proud Family''. He voiced Matt Martin/Kewl Breeze in the short-lived animated series ''

Zevo-3 ''Zevo-3'' is an American animated television series co-produced by Maslen Entertainment, MoonScoop Entertainment and Skechers Entertainment for Nicktoons. It premiered on October 11, 2010 and ended on May 7, 2011 after one season. It is based ...

.'' He also voiced General Iroh, Zuko's grandson, in ''

.'' He contributed several voices for the video game '' Saints Row'', as well as voicing Shingo in the video games ''

Skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish * Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongi ...

'', '' Skate 2'' and ''

Skate 3 ''Skate 3'' is a skateboarding video game, the third installment in the ''Skate'' series and the sequel to 2009's '' Skate 2'', developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It was released worldwide in May 2010 for PlayStation 3 a ...

''. He voiced Seeing Farther in the video game '' Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood'' and the Asmodian male youth voice for the

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

game '' Aion: Tower of Eternity''. He has also provided voices for the games '' Aion'', '' Aion: Upheaval'' and ''

Mortal Kombat X ''Mortal Kombat X'' is a 2015 fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the tenth main installment in the ''Mortal Kom ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Video games

Web

Awards

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

– ''

'' ** Won – Best Ensemble Cast ** Nominated – Best Young Actor

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basco, Dante 1975 births American male film actors American male television actors American male child actors American male voice actors American male video game actors American male actors of Filipino descent Living people People from Pittsburg, California 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Orange County School of the Arts alumni