Zuko Actor Didn't Think Avatar: The Last Airbender Would Be Popular
Dante Basco felt that Avatar: The Last Airbender was too ambitious for a show on Nickelodeon. Avatar: The Last Airbender was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, airing from 2005 to 2008. The creators took a lot of inspiration from Asian cultures (particularly Chinese, Japanese, and Indian) and various indigenous cultures across the globe. This anime-inspired series was an instant hit, and remains popular today, over a decade after its finale. Its success encouraged a multitude of related content, including a spinoff series, a plethora of comics, a movie (however poorly received), a podcast, an upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation, and most recently the creation of Avatar Studios (set to explore new stories in the ATLA universe).
Basco lends his iconic voice to Prince Zuko in the original animation. Zuko is initially portrayed as one of the series’ main antagonists, as he hunts down and terrorizes the protagonists on his quest to capture the Avatar. However, as the series continues viewers learn of much more sinister villains and sympathize with Zuko as he turns his back on the Fire Nation. While guided by his Uncle Iroh, Zuko regularly struggles to do the right thing in what is largely considered one of the best character redemption arcs on TV.
Related: Avatar's Most Important Person Not Returning to the Live-Action Remake
In an interview with The Digital Fix, Basco touches on how he felt when he first started working on Avatar: The Last Airbender. The actor confesses that he didn’t think The Last Airbender would go beyond the pilot due to not fitting in with Nickelodeon’s usual programming. Having experienced working on pilot episodes of TV shows that never got released, Basco believed that The
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