GTA Voice Actors: The Real People Behind CJ, Tommy, Niko, Michael, Franklin and Trevor
Updated Nov 5, 2026The most-searched GTA voice credits: CJ (Carl Johnson): Young Maylay. Big Smoke: Clifton Powell. Sweet: Faizon Love. Ryder: MC Eiht. Tenpenny: Samuel L. Jackson. Tommy Vercetti: Ray Liotta. Niko Bellic: Michael Hollick. GTA V's Michael De Santa: Ned Luke, Franklin Clinton: Shawn Fonteno and Trevor Philips: Steven Ogg. GTA VI's voice cast hasn't been officially announced.
Note: The characters are fictional. The actors are real people, and we list a credit only when it's publicly documented in the game credits, on Behind the Voice Actors (marked official credits), by Rockstar, or in cast interviews.
Quick answer: The most-searched GTA voice credits: CJ (Carl Johnson): Young Maylay. Big Smoke: Clifton Powell. Sweet: Faizon Love. Ryder: MC Eiht. Tenpenny: Samuel L. Jackson. Tommy Vercetti: Ray Liotta. Niko Bellic: Michael Hollick. GTA V's Michael De Santa: Ned Luke, Franklin Clinton: Shawn Fonteno and Trevor Philips: Steven Ogg. GTA VI's voice cast hasn't been officially announced.
Grand Theft Auto has always mixed Hollywood names with rappers and character actors who became famous because of the games. Below are the documented credits, grouped by era. Each character name links to its full bio where we have one. To go the other way, from a nickname to a full in-game name, start at the GTA characters hub.
GTA III era (2001)
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Claude | None (silent protagonist) |
| Catalina | Cynthia Farrell |
| Salvatore Leone | Frank Vincent |
| Toni Cipriani | Michael Madsen |
| 8-Ball | Guru |
| Lazlow (radio) | Lazlow Jones, playing himself |
See also Claude.
Vice City (2002) and Vice City Stories (2006)
| Character | Voice actor | Game |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Vercetti | Ray Liotta | Vice City |
| Lance Vance | Philip Michael Thomas | VC, VCS |
| Ken Rosenberg | William Fichtner | VC, San Andreas |
| Ricardo Diaz | Luis Guzmán | VC, VCS |
| Sonny Forelli | Tom Sizemore | Vice City |
| Kent Paul | Danny Dyer | VC, San Andreas |
| Umberto Robina | Danny Trejo | VC, VCS |
| Victor Vance | Armando Riesco (VC); Dorian Missick (VCS) | VC, VCS |
Ray Liotta, the Goodfellas star, voiced Tommy. He died in 2022.
San Andreas (2004)
| Character (full name) | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| CJ (Carl Johnson) | Young Maylay |
| Sweet (Sean Johnson) | Faizon Love |
| Big Smoke (Melvin Harris) | Clifton Powell |
| Ryder (Lance Wilson) | MC Eiht |
| OG Loc (Jeffrey Martin) | Jas Anderson |
| Frank Tenpenny | Samuel L. Jackson |
| Eddie Pulaski | Chris Penn |
| Cesar Vialpando | Clifton Collins Jr. |
| The Truth | Peter Fonda |
| Mike Toreno | James Woods |
| Woozie (Wu Zi Mu) | James Yaegashi |
| Madd Dogg | Ice-T |
| Catalina | Cynthia Farrell |
| Ken Rosenberg | William Fichtner |
| Salvatore Leone | Frank Vincent |
San Andreas has one of the most famous casts in gaming. Young Maylay was a little-known LA rapper when he was cast as CJ. Meanwhile, MC Eiht (of Compton's Most Wanted) and Ice-T brought real West Coast hip-hop credibility.
Liberty City Stories (2005)
| Character | Voice actor |
|---|---|
| Toni Cipriani | Danny Mastrogiorgio |
| Salvatore Leone | Frank Vincent |
| 8-Ball | Guru |
GTA IV (2008) and Episodes from Liberty City
| Character | Voice actor | Game |
|---|---|---|
| Niko Bellic | Michael Hollick | GTA IV |
| Roman Bellic | Jason Zumwalt | GTA IV |
| Little Jacob (Jacob Hughes) | Coolie Ranx | GTA IV |
| Johnny Klebitz | Scott Hill | The Lost and Damned; GTA V |
| Luis Fernando Lopez | Mario D'Leon | The Ballad of Gay Tony |
Also see Dimitri Rascalov and Huang Lee from Chinatown Wars. We don't list a voice credit for Huang because Chinatown Wars has very little voiced dialogue and no credit we could verify.
GTA V (2013) and GTA Online
| Character | Voice / performance actor |
|---|---|
| Michael De Santa (born Michael Townley) | Ned Luke |
| Franklin Clinton | Shawn Fonteno |
| Trevor Philips | Steven Ogg |
| Lamar Davis | Gerald "Slink" Johnson |
| Lester Crest | Jay Klaitz |
| Jimmy De Santa | Danny Tamberelli |
| Johnny Klebitz (cameo) | Scott Hill |
| Lazlow | Lazlow Jones |
GTA V's three leads did full performance capture, not just voice work. All three became fan favorites in their own right. Shawn Fonteno is the cousin of Young Maylay, the voice of CJ, which links the two Los Santos-based games. Ned Luke, Shawn Fonteno and Gerald "Slink" Johnson came back to their roles in GTA Online updates, including the 2021 Contract update starring Franklin and Lamar.
GTA VI: voice cast not announced
As of November 5, 2026, Rockstar hasn't named any actor for Jason Duval, Lucia Caminos or any other GTA VI character. Fan theories about who plays the leads circulate online, but they aren't confirmed, and we don't repeat them. We'll add GTA VI credits once Rockstar announces them or the game's official credits are public after its November 19, 2026 launch. Read more on our GTA VI hub, or go back to the GTA hub.
FAQ
Who voices CJ in GTA San Andreas?
Young Maylay (Chris Bellard), a Los Angeles rapper.
Who voiced Big Smoke, Sweet and Ryder?
Big Smoke was Clifton Powell, Sweet was Faizon Love and Ryder was rapper MC Eiht.
Who voiced Tommy Vercetti in Vice City?
Ray Liotta.
Who is the voice of Niko Bellic?
Michael Hollick.
Who voices Michael, Franklin and Trevor in GTA V?
Ned Luke (Michael), Shawn Fonteno (Franklin) and Steven Ogg (Trevor). All three also did motion capture.
Who voices Jason and Lucia in GTA VI?
It hasn't been officially announced. Rockstar hasn't credited any GTA VI actors.
Did Samuel L. Jackson voice a GTA character?
Yes. He voiced Officer Frank Tenpenny in San Andreas.
Sources
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA III
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA Vice City
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA Vice City Stories
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA San Andreas
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA Liberty City Stories
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA IV
- Behind the Voice Actors, GTA V
- Rockstar Games, official GTA VI site
- GameSpot, GTA 6 voice actors (no official cast)