People Still Yell Bangarang At Hook's Dante Basco Every Single Day

Dante Basco as Rufio in Hook

Many actors would love to play just one iconic character in their career, but doing so can have some fairly odd consequences. Such is the case for Dante Basco. In 1991, at the age of 16, the actor played the role of Rufio in Steven Spielberg's Hook, and today, at the age of 43, he says that people still shout the Lost Boys catchphrase "Bagarang" at him on the street. According to Basco...

A lot. It's kind of weird because I've been Rufio in my life now longer than I haven't been Rufio, you know? Hearing 'Bangarang' or people shouting out 'Rufio', it could be a daily occurrence sometimes which is crazy. And, I don't really think about it too much because again it's like, you just kind of walk around the world. I notice it more when I'm hanging out with newer friends and they point it out a lot. I'm like, 'Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That happens a lot.' But yeah, It's weird. People walking by or driving by even, like how does that happen? You're just walking down the street. So it happens. It could be at least a weekly occurrence depending on where I'm at in time, it could be a daily occurrence. Which is pretty crazy because that was such a long time ago.

As Dante Basco says, it's been a long time. It's been almost 30 years and people still make reference to the movie he was in. It certainly goes to show just what a profound impact Hook had on at least one generation, and possibly those that have come after it.

Basco tells ComicBook.com that Hook became one of those movies that was seemingly inescapable for a time. It was the kind of movie that babysitters, grandparents, and substitute teachers would sit you down in front of to keep you occupied. As such, it became a movie that a lot of kids saw a lot. Moments in the movie were memorized and repeated over and over again. When that generation thinks of childhood, they think of Hook.

All in all, it seems like Dante Basco has taken it all in stride. He seems at peace with his minor, but perpetual, celebrity as Rufio, the leader of the Lost Boys. At least he was until Peter Pan came back to town. He was even recently involved in a short film, not coincidently, titled Bangarang, which acted as a prequel to Hook which told Rufio's origin story.

Now, both old and new generations can check out Hook in all new way as a brand new 4K Blu-ray print of the film is being released. This will undoubtedly expose an entirely new generation to Hook as their parents make them watch the movie they remember so fondly. Then they'll be even more people shouting "Bagarang" at Dante Basco.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.