Big Smoke Real Name: Melvin Harris (GTA Character Bio)

Fictional character. Melvin Harris is a fictional character from Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto series. They're not a real person.

Quick answer

Big Smoke's real name is Melvin Harris. He's the fictional Grove Street traitor of GTA: San Andreas, voiced by Clifton Powell.

Bio

Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris is one of the most famous characters in GTA history. He's a big, philosophical, food-loving member of the Grove Street Families in San Andreas, voiced by actor Clifton Powell. His long fast-food order, delivered to CJ at the drive-thru, has become a well-known gaming meme.

When CJ comes back to Los Santos in 1992, Big Smoke is one of the first people to welcome him. He seems to be CJ's calm, wise friend, the one who talks him through Grove Street's problems and joins him on gang missions. He's funny and likeable, and he talks like someone who has thought deeply about life.

Spoiler warning: Big Smoke is secretly a traitor. He's working with the Ballas and with corrupt officers Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski, and together they're flooding Los Santos with crack. He helps set up the ambush that leaves Sweet hurt and arrested and sends CJ out of the city.

When CJ comes back to Los Santos at the end of the game, he finds Big Smoke running a huge drug operation from his fortified crack palace. Their final confrontation is one of the most emotional scenes in the game. Big Smoke defends his choices, saying he wanted money and power while CJ and Sweet held onto old loyalties.

Big Smoke is fictional, but Clifton Powell's credit is listed in the official credits. His mix of humor, charm and betrayal makes him one of GTA's best-written villains.