8-Ball: 8-Ball (GTA Character Bio)

Fictional character. 8-Ball is a fictional character from Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series. They're not a real person.

Bio

8-Ball is a demolitions specialist from Liberty City. The games have never given him a full real name, so "8-Ball" is the only name on record. In Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories he's voiced by Guru (Keith Elam) of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr. Guru died in 2010, and his part in GTA III is still one of his best-known acting credits.

GTA III opens with a prison transfer on a bridge. The convoy is attacked, and the silent protagonist, Claude, escapes alongside a fellow prisoner: 8-Ball. His hands are badly burned and bandaged, so he can't drive. Claude takes the wheel, and 8-Ball repays him by bringing him into the Liberty City underworld through the Leone family.

After that, 8-Ball runs a bomb shop in Portland. Players can bring cars there to have explosives fitted, and he also turns up in missions where his skills are needed. The best known is the casino job for the Leone family, where 8-Ball's demolition work is central to the plan.

8-Ball comes back in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, the prequel set in 1998. There he's again tied to explosives and helps protagonist Toni Cipriani. Fans read this as his backstory before the events of GTA III.

He isn't a big character on screen, but he's well remembered as the first friendly face in the 3D era of GTA.

8-Ball is fictional. Guru's GTA III and Liberty City Stories credits are documented on Behind The Voice Actors.