Dante Basco: Making it in Hollywood

Who’s to resist a book title as catchy as “From Rufio to Zuko” by Fil-Am actor Dante Basco (Not a Cult, LA, 2019)? The book even boasts of two different covers, depending on the reader’s preference of either Rufio or Zuko, whose images alternate on the covers. His fans and followers know that Rufio was Basco’s initial role as leader of the Lost Boys in Steven Spielberg’s movie “Hook.” But as Zuko in “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” a Nickelodeon hit, Basco established himself as a cultural icon to reckon with. Between these roles, there were movies with Antonio Banderas and Robin Williams.

In an armchair conversation with Tim Yap during the Manila House launch in BGC, Basco revealed that although he felt he was too young at 42 to write a memoir, he saw his story of his 30-year experience as a struggling actor in Hollywood as one that should inspire other Filipinos and the next generation of artists to attempt to do what he has succeeded in—to demonstrate that it is all possible, his having gone from dancing to voice acting to filmmaking, and the role of family and culture in his career.

Basco has come a long way from his breakdancing days as a child street performer in San Francisco along with his brothers. He moved to Hollywood with his mom’s question: “You guys want to take the leap and become little fish in the big ocean of Hollywood?”

Basco found that his Filipino identity had to be “malleable” for him to get a break anywhere; there were no roles for Filipinos, as this nationality was not even known. When the role called for a Chinese character, he proudly pointed out his Chinese roots, his paternal grandmother being part-Chinese. When a Mexican was called for, he capitalized on the country’s Spanish colonization, harping on his being Latino, too. So initially, Basco was everyone from Puerto Rican to Korean to any other Asian role, until Spielberg cast him as the leader of a multicultural gang of misfits. “I didn’t get to be Filipino till the age of 21,” said Basco.

Basco credits the success of “Crazy Rich Asians” for opening the door to Asian-Americans in the industry. Now on his 12th visit to the country in the past two and half years, Basco, 44, said: “As a Fil-Am, I know what it means to be American, and now I want to know what it means to be Filipino.”

With his love for poetry, “forever a part of my life,” Basco ended his media meet with a poetry performance of “Where you from?” a work that captures what met his family in Los Angeles. He uses poetry when he addresses student audiences, tracing the profound influence of the movie “Dead Poets Society” in his life. That led him in 1998 to start a Poetry Lounge in his living room, originally Dante’s Poetry Lounge and today known as DPL, or Da Poetry Lounge, in Los Angeles.

Bravo, Dante Basco—your success opens doors for Fil-Am artists. As he wrote, “We should fill the sky with our own stars.”

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My apologies to all of you readers who were enthused about gaining access to Room to Read’s 20 children’s books in Filipino as mentioned in last week’s column. By the time you tried the web link, public access was no longer available and had to be requested. Asa Almario Montenejo, project management partner and overall coordinator, issued this official statement on behalf of Room to Read:

“The pdfs sent after the Room to Read Kuwentong Musmos Press Launch were advanced copies for exclusive release to the media and select reviewers. The titles will be available digitally for public access on Room to Read’s online platform literacycloud.org, as well as commercially through the four publishers (Adarna House, Anvil Publishing, Lampara Books, and OMF-Hiyas Books) within the year 2020.

“We’re very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please know that we are now contacting and sending additional book information (such as cover images and book summaries) to each and everyone who has requested access.” This Google link will only be available till March 12.

—————-Neni Sta. Romana Cruz (nenisrcruz@gmail.com) is a member of the Eggie Apostol Foundation.