User:Spy-cicle/drafts/List of Grand Theft Auto V characters

Rockstar North's 2013 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto V, published by Rockstar Games, deals with a trio of criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency. The game's use of three protagonists is a break from series tradition. Three days after its release, Grand Theft Auto V had earned more than US$1 billion in sales, making it the fastest selling video game in history. Additionally, Grand Theft Auto V was voted Game of the Year from several gaming publications. The game's characters were created by writers Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries. The use of multiple protagonists, as well as the cast in general, has received critical and popular acclaim from gaming magazines, players and websites.

The three main playable characters in Grand Theft Auto V are Michael De Santa, a retired bank robber who lives with his dysfunctional family on the proceeds of his former life; Franklin Clinton, a gang member who is working as a repo man at the start of the game for an unscrupulous Armenian car dealership; and Trevor Philips, Michael's former partner-in-crime, who lives alone in a trailer in the desert town of Sandy Shores, where his reckless and psychotic behaviours are fuelled by substance abuse. The three acquaintances are drawn into Los Santos' criminal underworld "in the pursuit of the almighty American dollar". According to Houser, each of the protagonists is unlike any primary character that has appeared in a Grand Theft Auto title to date: Michael represents a protagonist who "won" in life, and is now trying to readjust to a normal one after his story has come to an end; Trevor is a supporting psychopathic, bloodthirsty character recast as a central protagonist; and Franklin is someone who has had no real exposure to a life of crime until the events of the game, and his attempts to avoid such a life end up launching him right into the heart of it.

Creation and conception
Grand Theft Auto V was envisioned to exceed the core mechanics of the Grand Theft Auto series by giving players three protagonists to switch between. The team's main motivation for including three protagonists was for Grand Theft Auto V to innovate game storytelling and to prevent the series from feeling stale by not evolving the core structure of the gameplay. The game's co-writer, Dan Houser said, "We didn't want to do the same thing over again". The concept of having three interconnected protagonists was devised during the development of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), but the team felt they did not have the technical capabilities to realise it. The game's art director, Aaron Garbut said, "It didn't work from a tech point of view because the three characters need three times as much memory, three types of animation, and so on". After the release of Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), the team developed episodic content packages, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (both 2009), each of which introduced a new protagonist. The three interwoven stories had a positive critical reception and confirmed the team's confidence that building Grand Theft Auto V around this model was an innovative decision.

A single-player story revolving around three protagonists was one of Grand Theft Auto V's earliest design objectives. Garbut said such a radical change to the gameplay's core structure was a risk, recalling the team's concern that a departure from Grand Theft Auto's traditional, single lead character set-up "might backfire". In early conceptualisations, the game would have told three stories; each through a different protagonist. Later, the idea that story trajectories would meet throughout the game was developed from the stories of Grand Theft Auto IV. Eventually, the concept evolved into three interconnected stories that intertwined through the game missions. According to Benzies, the team made the multiple-character formula "integral to the structure of the gameplay as well as the narrative". Houser said he felt that Grand Theft Auto V is their "strongest plotted game because the characters are so intertwined" and that the "meeting points [between the characters' stories] are very exciting". In gameplay, the three characters' differing personalities and qualities are intended to appeal to a broad spectrum of players, while offering players the option to learn more about the characters throughout the game.

The central theme to the story of Grand Theft Auto V is the "pursuit of the almighty dollar". The mission content is structured around the lead characters' efforts to plan and execute complicated heists to accrue wealth for themselves. The team's decided to focus on money as the game's central theme in response to the 2007–08 financial crisis; the effects of the crisis on the main characters are the catalyst for them to conduct heist missions. Houser said, "We wanted this post-crash feeling, because it works thematically in this game about bank robbers". The team were encouraged by the positive reaction to the "Three Leaf Clover" mission in Grand Theft Auto IV—in which an elaborate heist is coordinated and executed by Niko Bellic and accomplices—to develop the story around the heists. Houser said that while the "Three Leaf Clover" mission was well-received, the team had not captured the thrill of the robbery sequence to the best of their capabilities and wanted to focus on achieving that in Grand Theft Auto V. He said, "We wanted to have a couple of really strong bank robberies ... It felt like that was a good device that we'd never used in the past. Repeating ourselves is a fear when we're doing games where part of the evolution is just technological".

The team drew upon game protagonist archetypes during the scripting the characters. Michael was considered to embody greed, Franklin ambition and Trevor insanity. Houser said the team characterised Michael and Trevor as juxtapositions of each other. He said, "Michael is like the criminal who wants to compartmentalise and be a good guy some of the time and Trevor is the maniac who isn't a hypocrite". He said that having three lead characters would help move Grand Theft Auto V's story into more original territory than its predecessors, which traditionally followed a single protagonist rising through the ranks of a criminal underworld. Ned Luke portrayed Michael, Shawn "Solo" Fonteno portrayed Franklin and Steven Ogg portrayed Trevor. During the initial audition process, Ogg noticed an on-set chemistry between him and Luke, which he felt helped secure them the roles. Ogg said, "When [Luke] and I went in the room together we immediately had something". While the actors knew their auditions were for Rockstar Games, it was not until they signing contracts that they learnt they would be involved in a Grand Theft Auto title.

The actors began working on the game in 2010. Their performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology. Dialogue for scenes with characters seated in vehicles was recorded in studios. Because the actors had their dialogue and movements recorded on-set, they considered their performances were no different those of film or television roles. Their dialogue was scripted so that it did not allow the actors to ad-lib; however they sometimes made small changes to the performance with approval from the directors.

Michael De Santa
Michael De Santa (formerly Townley) is one of the three playable protagonists of Grand Theft Auto V. Ned Luke played Michael, providing voice acting and motion capture. Michael is in his late-40s and is married to Amanda and is the father of Jimmy and Tracey. Each of the protagonists have special abilities that can be used during gameplay; Michael's ability is to enter bullet time in weaponry combat.

In the game's prologue which takes place in 2004, Michael takes part in a botched bank robbery in Ludendorff, North Yankton, that forces one of his accomplices, Trevor Philips, into hiding; the robbery seemingly leads to his death. Nine years later, in 2013, Trevor discovers that Michael's death was faked; and that he is living in Los Santos in witness protection under a new surname with his family. Throughout the game, Michael and Trevor commit a series of heists with the help of Franklin Clinton. However, Trevor later discovers that Michael set up the Ludendorff heist intending for it to fail, and that this resulted in Brad's death. Despite not forgiving Michael, Trevor later helps him escape from a Mexican standoff. After completing their most daring raid ever (robbing the Union Depository's gold bullion reserve), Trevor considers forgiving Michael. Later, Franklin is approached by two separate parties demanding that he kill either Trevor or Michael. Should he choose the latter, Franklin chases Michael to a secluded spot, before pushing him to his death off a water tower. Should he choose the former, Michael and Franklin chase Trevor into an oil field, and kill Trevor by igniting oil that spilled onto him when he crashed. Should Franklin choose to kill neither man, the trio join forces to kill all of their enemies (Michael kills Franklin's nemesis Stretch).

When Luke's agent advised him of the casting call for Grand Theft Auto V, he initially did not want to audition for the part because it was in a video game. After reading the audition material and learning more about the project, Luke became interested in auditioning. He said, "I went immediately after reading the material from 'I'm not doing it' to 'nobody else is doing it.' It was just brilliant." To prepare for his role as Michael, Luke gained 25 pounds and studied Rockstar's previous games, starting with Grand Theft Auto IV. Luke considers Michael's characterisation to be an amalgamation of Hugh Beaumont's portrayal of Ward Cleaver in the American sitcom Leave It to Beaver (1957–63) and Al Pacino's portrayal of Tony Montana in the 1983 film Scarface.

Franklin Clinton
Franklin Clinton is one of the three playable protagonists of Grand Theft Auto V. Shawn "Solo" Fonteno played Franklin, providing voice acting and motion capture. Part of the Chamberlain Gangster Families set of the Families gang, Franklin is a former gang banger who has ambitions to become wealthy and successful. Realising he will not achieve this goal in the gang life, he works a full-time job as a repossession agent for the crooked Armenian businessman Simeon Yetarian, who owns a luxury car dealership, and charges rip-off prices to customers. Franklin works alongside his best friend Lamar Davis, and the pair have a race in two sports cars they repossessed at the start of the game. The special ability that Franklin can use is the ability to slow down time whilst driving.

When Simeon orders Franklin to repossess the vehicle of Jimmy De Santa, Jimmy's father Michael holds a gun to Franklin's head and orders him to drive the car through the window of the dealership, which in turn leads to Franklin being fired. In-awe of Michael's professional criminality, Franklin seeks him out for possible employment. Michael sees great potential in Franklin, and later employs him in jobs, including many heists and the two soon forge a close father/son bond (Michael openly calls him "the son I never had"). Meanwhile, Franklin clashes with Harold "Stretch" Joseph, a Families OG member who was recently released from prison, that believes he can give Franklin orders due to his higher status within the gang; a notion that Franklin resents. Lamar often brings Franklin into deadly deals organised by Stretch, frustrating him and causing a falling out between the two friends. When Franklin refuses to help rescue Lamar from another drug deal gone wrong, Franklin's ex-girlfriend Tanisha convinces him to remain concerned about people from his old life; Franklin saves Lamar's life, deducing that Stretch defected to the Ballas when he was in prison, a rival gang, and is constantly setting up deals so he and Lamar will end up being killed. After completing the most dangerous heist, Franklin is ordered by FIB agent Steve Haines to kill Trevor, and by billionaire Devin Weston to kill Michael. Should Franklin kill either Trevor or Michael, he ceases contact with the survivor and returns to his old life. Should he kill neither, the trio obliterate their enemies, including Steve Haines and Devin Weston (Franklin kills Trevor's nemesis Wei Cheng).

Fonteno first became aware of the acting job through his friend DJ Pooh, who worked on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and was involved in Grand Theft Auto V's music production. Fonteno said growing up in South Los Angeles and being exposed to gang culture helped him connect to the character of Franklin. He drew upon his earlier involvement with a gang and trafficking drugs in his portrayal of Franklin. "I lived his life before ... He's been surrounded by drugs, the crime, living with his aunt—I lived with my grandmother—so there was a lot of familiarity", Fonteno said. Having not worked as an actor since portraying Face in the 2001 film The Wash, Fonteno studied Ned Luke and Steven Ogg, the voice actors of Michael and Trevor, respectively, to refine his acting skills.

Trevor Philips
Trevor Philips is one of the three playable protagonists of Grand Theft Auto V. Steven Ogg played Trevor, providing voice acting and motion capture. Trevor is Canadian-American, born just north of the border and raised in the United States. He grew up with a physically abusive father and an emotionally abusive mother. While Michael and Franklin have the special ability to slow down time, Trevor's special ability is to deal out extra damage, and take less damage, and he can also perform a few unique melee attacks when the special meter is activated.

In the game's prologue, Trevor takes part in a botched robbery in Ludendorff, North Yankton, that forces him into hiding; while his accomplices Michael De Santa is presumed dead and Brad Snider sent to jail. Nine years later, Trevor discovers that Michael faked his death, and the two reunite and commit a series of heists with the help of Michael's new protégé Franklin Clinton. Meanwhile, Trevor deals with other enemies closer to home, such as the Lost Motorcycle Club, Varrios Los Aztecas gang, and the O'Neil Brothers. However, Trevor soon discovers that Michael arranged a set-up at the Ludendorff heist, and that Brad is not really in jail, but is dead and buried in Michael's "grave". Thus, Trevor vows to kill Michael, but agrees to spare him long enough, in order to complete one final heist to secure his fortune. After completing this heist, Franklin is approached by two separate parties demanding that he kill either Trevor or Michael. Should he choose the former, Franklin takes down Trevor with the help of Michael, killing him by setting him on fire. Should he choose to kill neither, the trio join forces to obliterate all their enemies (Trevor kills Haines), and Trevor forgives Michael.

Ogg felt Trevor's characterisation evolved over time. He said, "Nuances and character traits that began to appear—his walk, his manner of speech, his reactions, definitely informed his development throughout the game". Ogg cites Tom Hardy's depiction of English criminal Charles Bronson in the 2008 biopic Bronson as a strong stylistic influence on his portrayal of Trevor. Ogg said that while Trevor embodies the violent, psychopathic Grand Theft Auto anti-hero archetype, he wanted players to sympathise with Trevor's story. "To elicit other emotions was tough, and it was the biggest challenge and it's something that meant a lot to me", Ogg said.

Lester Crest
Lester Crest is a business partner and friend of Michael and Trevor. He is portrayed by Jay Klaitz. Lester worked with Michael and Trevor on many of their heists prior to the Ludendorff Heist in 2004. Following this, Lester kept tabs on the two men, knowing both of their locations. When Michael realises that he needs more money to pay off Martin Madrazo, he contacts Lester, who helps him on most of the following heists in the game. Lester tends to show aggression towards people for no particular reason, often shouting at people and looking down on them as being of inferior intelligence than himself. He suffers from wasting disease, which has rendered him unable to walk without a walking stick. He also knows how to hack into computers for heists, and shows a dislike of white-collar criminals and corrupt CEOs who use legitimate businesses to rip off unsuspecting citizens and thus hires Michael and Franklin to kill several powerful businessmen, destroying their companies while he reaps the financial rewards from buying stocks in their competitors.

Lamar Davis
Lamar Davis is Franklin's best friend. He is played by Slink Johnson. Lamar is a gangbanger in the Families, and previously worked as a repossession agent for Simeon Yetarian alongside Franklin. However, Lamar has opposing ideals with Franklin; while the former appears to be more concentrated on the gang, the latter is more focused on serious money-making opportunities outside the gang life. Lamar devises several get-rich-quick schemes, but he has a tendency to not think things through; hence the reason why they usually backfire. When kidnapping a member of a rival gang, he allows his face to be shown and uses his own smartphone to call his co-kidnappers with the money (the rival gang member is associated with the police, making it easier to track him). Lamar respects Stretch, but remains unaware of Stretch's plans to kill him, as he secretly defected to a rival gang whilst in prison. Lamar wishes to start a new set called the Forum Gangster Families with Franklin, but it is unknown if he ever asks Stretch for permission, or if his request led to Stretch wanting to kill him. His lack of forethought, habit of blindly walking into obvious traps and his constant need to be rescued by Franklin are all treated as one running gag throughout the game. Lamar's run-ins with Stretch leads to a major argument with Franklin, who is disgusted at Lamar's admiration for Stretch. At the end of the game, should Franklin choose to kill either Michael or Trevor, Lamar contacts Franklin and tells him that Franklin was right about Stretch and decides to cease contact with him. Should Franklin kill neither, Lamar assists the trio in repelling an assault on them by the FIB and Merryweather before they go on to kill their main enemies; including Stretch.

Dave Norton
David "Dave" Norton is an agent of the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIB), working under his superior Steve Haines. He is portrayed by Julian Gamble. In 2004, Dave somehow came into contact with Michael Townley and the two men covertly worked together to stage Michael's supposed death during an upcoming bank heist in Ludendorff; Michael would be able to leave his criminal life behind and Dave would finally have something to highlight his uneventful career. After the heist, Dave shoots Michael and Brad Snider during their escape, but he misses Trevor Philips, as was the original plan; Brad dies and is buried in Michael's "grave", while Michael survives the heist as Dave intentionally missed him due to their secret agreement. Dave pulls strings to secretly get Michael and his family into the witness protection program in exchange for monthly payments. Dave then enjoys the fame of being the man who killed one of the most wanted men in the country, but that wanes after a few years, with his career remaining stagnant.

For the next nine years, Michael lives a near-perfect retirement in Los Santos under the surname "De Santa", with Dave being in contact with him. He arrives at Michael's mansion in the affluent suburb of Rockford Hills, after Michael and his protege, Franklin Clinton, robbed a jewellery store; warning him that the whole thing will attract Trevor, who Dave has been sending emails to using Brad's identity so as to continue monitoring him. Haines discovers Dave's deal with Michael, forcing Michael, Trevor and Franklin to work for him and Dave, and the trio do several jobs for them, with most of the jobs involving working against the IAA. Haines wants to get rid of Michael so he'll be able to get out clean of the suspicions against him, leading Dave to briefly turn against Haines during a massive shootout between the FIB, the IAA, and Merryweather, during which Dave gets help from both Michael and Trevor.

Dave tries to calm down Haines, who agrees to spare Michael, but wants Trevor dead. Haines orders Franklin to kill Trevor, while Devin Weston tells him to assassinate Michael. If the player chooses to spare Michael and Trevor, Haines is killed, and Dave is named new host of "The Underbelly of Paradise", the reality show that Haines presented. Although Trevor suggests that Dave be killed as well, Michael insists that his life be spared in order to prevent the FIB from going after them any further. He admits to Trevor that he was posing as Brad, and tells him the FIB will leave him alone if he stays out of trouble.

Although on opposing sides of the law, Michael and Dave are best friends. Dave freely admits that he is corrupt, but is quick to point out that he is less corrupt than many others.

Ron Jakowski
Ronald "Nervous Ron" Jakowski is a friend of Trevor, and a fellow redneck. He is played by David Mogentale. He is a paranoid conspiracy theorist, and is terrified of Trevor, always calling him "boss" and apologizing to him when he does anything slightly wrong. Ron also hosts a radio show on Blaine County Radio, where he reveals that he used to be married and lived a normal life, but one day he met Trevor, whose anarchic worldview changed Ron's perspective on everything he once knew. He divorced his wife, but now pays her alimony.

Mogentale was cast as the character of Ron after the first audition. As Grand Theft Auto V was his first project in both voice acting and motion capture, Mogentale committed to going "all out" when portraying Ron. He has also expressed his feeling of nervousness when performing the character, due to his lack of motion capture experience and the limited time for rehearsal; a few days prior to shooting a scene, the required actors were given the script for that specific scene only.

Wade Hebert
Wade Hebert is a friend of Trevor. Matthew Maher portrayed Wade. He is a juggalo, and chronic methamphetamine addict whose drug addiction has left him with the mind of a child, though it is implied that he was already quite naive before getting addicted. Wade met Trevor when he and his friends bought drugs off of him; it is hinted that Trevor then killed Wade's friends when Wade was not looking, and 'takes care' of Wade ever since. Like Ron, he is quite nervous around, and loyal to Trevor.

Solomon Richards
Solomon Richards is Michael's favourite film producer. He is portrayed by Joel Rooks. Devin Weston manages to get Michael in contact with Richards, and the two become friends immediately. Michael does some work for Richards, namely intimidate director Anton Beaudelaire into starting the shooting of the film, and actor Milton McIlroy into apologizing to Richards, and taking out Rocco Pelosi, his agent, before being listed as Associate Producer on his latest film, Meltdown. He is even invited to the red carpet premiere, along with his family, though Michael does not attend due to Devin Weston sending Merryweather mercenaries to kill Michael's family.

Devin Weston
Devin Weston is portrayed by Jonathan Walker. He is a billionaire investor, corporate raider, and the CEO of Devin Weston Holdings, which owns shares in nearly every company in the state. Weston believes he is so rich that he can do anything without having to suffer the consequences. He is particularly ruthless in his investment tactics to the point where he gets sexual pleasure out of double-crossing his business partners by exploiting loopholes in their contracts. He is shown to be arrogant and unsympathetic towards others, and likes to advertise his own sexual prowess. He also acts as a friend to the protagonists, even though his scorn is in the open.

Weston employs Michael, Franklin and Trevor on a task to steal some high-end sports cars, which they complete, but orders Franklin and Trevor to retrieve three more cars before they can get paid. Impressed with Franklin's work, Weston hints to him that he should move past Michael to better things, which strikes a chord with Franklin. After he receives the three cars he requested, Weston still refuses to pay up, which angers the trio greatly. Weston also attempts to shut down Richards Majestic Studio, the last of Vinewood's film studios for profit, but his efforts are thwarted by Michael, who recently acquired a job there as a film producer. Michael's actions result in the accidental death of Weston's loyal lawyer, Molly Schultz.

Feeling humiliated by her death, Weston enlists Merryweather Security Consulting - which he also owns a share in - to kill the De Santa family, but Michael fends the attackers off. Realizing that he needs someone close to Michael to pull the trigger, he orders Franklin to murder Michael under threat of severe repercussion, while Steve Haines orders Franklin to murder Trevor. However, Franklin can also choose to murder Haines and Weston along with Wei Cheng and Harold "Stretch" Joseph; if he chooses this, Trevor kidnaps Weston, before driving him to a desolate location in the trunk of his own car. When Michael and Franklin arrive, they push the car with Weston locked inside over a cliff; where it hits the ground and explodes, killing him.

Steve Haines
Steven "Steve" Haines is portrayed by Robert Bogue. He is a decorated FIB agent who is so skilled that he has his own reality TV show, Saints and Sinners: The Underbelly of Paradise about the criminal underworld of Los Santos. He is Dave Norton's superior and learns of his subordinate's deal with Michael after the former bank robber comes out of retirement. Instead of reporting it, Haines decides to use Michael, Franklin, and Trevor to perform dirty work aimed at undermining the International Affairs Agency (IAA), the FIB's rival, so as to secure more funding from the government. He is shown to be particularly psychotic and arrogant, and is despised by almost everyone he comes into contact with. He claims a close, personal friendship with Devin Weston, and it is implied that he has Weston's influence to thank for his position.

Following a raid on a biological weapons research facility, the FIB begins investigating Haines, so he needs help covering his tracks, which culminates with him trying to arrest Michael to silence him. Haines's protege, Andreas Sanchez, betrays him by informing the FIB of his superior's activities; this results in him killing Andreas. Towards the end of the game, Haines is convinced by Norton to spare Michael and only silence Trevor, whose actions brought more heat onto them. He orders Franklin to kill Trevor while Weston orders Franklin to kill Michael. Franklin has the choice to ignore both of these orders, and go after these men; if the player chooses such option, Trevor kills Haines with a sniper rifle at the Del Perro Pier, where he is with his cameraman, filming new episodes of his popular TV show at the Ferris wheel.

Wei Cheng
Wei Cheng is an antagonist of Grand Theft Auto V, played by George Cheung. He is the leader of the Los Santos Triads (A Chinese-American criminal organization), and wants to base his business in Blaine County. He contacts Trevor, as he wishes to work with him and his company (Trevor Philips Enterprises/Industries). He sends his son out to talk to Trevor, before declining the request to work with him as he deems it too risky. Cheng enters a partnership with the O'Neil Brothers, Trevor's rival, which causes Trevor to kill most of the O'Neil Brothers and blow up their meth factory, ruining Cheng's deal. After the murder of the leader of the O'Neil Brothers, Elwood O'Neil, Cheng sends men to find Trevor, but when they do, they incorrectly deduce that Michael - who is living with Trevor for a time - is Trevor's lover. The Triads ambush Michael and Trevor when the two return to Ludendorff, capturing Michael. Cheng proceeds to hold Michael hostage and torture him in a meat factory in Los Santos for days, hoping to lure Trevor into a trap; Franklin ultimately bursts in and rescues Michael. At the end of the game, if Franklin sets out to save Michael and Trevor, he then tracks him down at the Pacific Bluffs and kills him.

Harold "Stretch" Joseph
Harold "Stretch" Joseph is played by Hassan Iniko Johnson. After being released from prison, Stretch immediately returns to his gang, the Chamberlain Gangster Families, demanding respect and dishing out orders to Franklin and Lamar. Franklin openly disrespects Stretch, considering him pathetic for never growing out of the gang mentality, which angers Stretch. Lamar, however, looks up to him and convinces Franklin to come along on deals organized by Stretch. Stretch goes with Franklin and Lamar to the first deal he set up, which turns out to be an ambush by their enemy gang, the Ballas. They fight through the Ballas, and manage to survive. Stretch is later revealed to be a traitor and associate of the Ballas (having switched gangs in prison), and his deals are actually attempts to ambush and kill Franklin and Lamar. He ultimately arranges for Lamar to be abducted in order to lure Franklin into a trap, but regardless the duo manages to foil every attempt on their lives. At the end of the game, when Franklin makes the decision to save both Michael and Trevor, Lester manages to track down the basketball court where Stretch is hanging about at, and Michael kills him and the remaining members of the Ballas defending him.

Amanda De Santa
Amanda De Santa (previously Amanda Townley) is the wife of Michael, and the mother of Jimmy and Tracey. She is played by Vicki Van Tassel. Michael first met Amanda when she worked as a stripper, and she continued the job even after they got married. Their relationship became shaky following the Townley Family's placement in a witness protection program after Michael's secret deal with FIB agent Dave Norton prior to the North Ludendorff heist in 2004. During the events of the game, it becomes evident that Amanda and Michael do not get along. The two are constantly arguing with each other, and can never seem to agree on anything. It is even revealed that Amanda has been having an affair with her tennis coach Kyle Chavis, and likely many others. Following many of Michael's crazy decisions and actions, Amanda and her children decide to move out for a few weeks and she begins dating her self-absorbed yoga teacher Fabien LaRouche, only to realise that she truly loves Michael. Amanda later suggests that the family take a counselling session with Dr. Friedlander, which erupts into a massive shouting match between Amanda and Michael. Despite this, Amanda acknowledges that she found the experience "cathartic," and that nobody will ever understand their family like the way they can understand each other. After Michael spends a few soul-destroying weeks in isolation at the house with virtually no contact from his family, apart from the rare text message from Jimmy. The De Santa family subsequently move back into their home and it is shown that their relationship is finally beginning to show signs of improvement.

Jimmy De Santa
James "Jimmy" De Santa (formerly Townley) is the son of Michael and Amanda, and the brother of Tracey. Danny Tamberelli portrays the role of Jimmy. Despite Michael's attempts to bond with his son, they have a confused relationship, and Jimmy and his sister have a hateful relationship. In particular, Michael is frustrated by his son's lack of ambition, as Jimmy spends most of his time alone in his bedroom, smoking cannabis, playing video games and shouting obscenities through his virtual headset to other online players. Jimmy is lazy, does very little; if any exercise, spends his dad's money, and does not work. At one point early in the game, Jimmy attempts to sell his father's yacht, however, it is then stolen by the men he tried to sell it to; with him trapped inside, and Michael and Franklin are forced to cancel their plans to go for a beer in order to save him from the two thugs. Jimmy is saved nevertheless, but the men escape with the stolen yacht after Amanda's car (which Michael had borrowed) breaks down on the freeway. Later on, Jimmy tricks his father into drinking a spiked beverage, before stealing his car, money, and moving out of the house with his mother and sister. Later on in the game, Jimmy and Michael start reuniting the family and the family return to their house as one, it is then hinted for the rest of the game that Jimmy is attempting to get in shape and may be applying for college or a job. It is proven that he finally starts off his working career in GTA Online, where he is found starting a small job in an arcade when bought by the player.

Tracey De Santa
Tracey De Santa, (formerly Townley) is the daughter of Michael and Amanda, and the sister of Jimmy. She is played by Michal Sinnott. She has a very damaged relationship with the rest of her family; she is often seen arguing with her mother, regularly fighting with her brother, and is constantly bickering to her father, mostly over her efforts to seek fame by hanging out with porn producers and C-list celebrities, as well as her attempt to audition for the TV talent show "Fame or Shame." She is known to have sex with multiple people, and to also take various drugs, much to the disapproval of her father. Tracey is not seen socializing with her father much in the game; the only time they are seen communicating is when they are angry with each other. After the family returns to the house, Michael gets a call from Tracey, that someone is stalking her, so he helps her find the stalker and attacks him, the two then bond afterwards as Michael teaches her the art of denial.

Floyd Hebert
Floyd Hebert is Wade's cousin and lives in his girlfriend Debra's condo in Vespucci Beach. Jimmy Ray Bennett plays Floyd. Floyd works as a stevedore, or dockhand at the Port of Los Santos. He is unequivocally shown to be a milquetoast, stuck in a dead-end job and in a relationship with a woman who does not love him. He is quite nervous around Trevor, who frequently bullies and intimidates him, forcing him to assist Trevor in his heinous crimes, and along with Wade, trashes his girlfriend's apartment. Floyd is quite serious about his relationship, and is worried that he may never get a chance to have a girlfriend again if his current relationship ends. Floyd is perhaps the only decent person and positive role model in the entire game, believing in living an honest life and abstinence from vices such as drugs, violence, adultery, corruption, greed, and materialism or any forms of crime. At one point, Trevor bursts into the apartment to find Debra and Floyd, who are angry at him and each other for him messing up her apartment and ruining their lives. In a Mexican standoff, Debra pulls out a handgun on Floyd and Trevor; consequently, Floyd pulls a knife on Debra. Having failed to calm them down, Trevor kills both him and his girlfriend off-screen.

Lazlow
Lazlow is an insecure, ill-mannered, and perverted radio host who has retained work across the Grand Theft Auto rendition of the United States for nearly thirty years, portrayed by Lazlow Jones. His first appearance comes in the mission "Fame or Shame", as the host of a talent show Tracey is auditioning for with a sexually suggestive dancing routine. Lazlow incurs the wrath of Trevor and Michael when they witness him participating in the dance. They chase him down and humiliate him by forcing him to remove his pants and dance in his underwear while Trevor films it on his smartphone. The episode heals the nine-year rift between Michael and Trevor, but causes friction between Michael and his daughter.

Lazlow appears later on in the mission "Reuniting the Family" when he agrees to let Tracey back on 'Fame or Shame' in exchange for sexual favours. Michael overhears this and assaults Lazlow, forcibly tattooing a penis on his body and piercing him before cutting off his signature ponytail. Lazlow initially claims he was assaulted by a deranged fan, but later claims it's his "new look". He is later seen interviewing a few celebrities at the premiere of Michael's new film Meltdown at the Oriental Theater, where he seems to have gotten a job as a reporter for Weazel News. Upon seeing Michael, he nervously and hastily retreats inside, pulling the cameraman along with him. Lazlow also co-hosts the show Chattersphere on the radio station West Coast Talk Radio. He bemoans his fall from fame, and expresses disgust at the only roles available to him, which he considers to be beneath him, but nevertheless accepts; because he is desperate to cling onto his media profile. He claims to be a member of the liberal media, but repeatedly contradicts himself on-air before breaking down in front of his co-host. He also spends much of the show punching holes in the liberal façade the city's upper and upper-middle class wear, mentioning that they have one of the worst carbon footprints in the world and yet no one wants to sacrifice their luxuries to do anything about it.

Other characters
Characters from previous games in the series return in Grand Theft Auto V, including Packie McReary, Johnny Klebitz], Ashley Butler, Rocco Pelosi, the U.L.P. Contact, and Michelle/Karen, all from Grand Theft Auto IV or its episodes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.