Summary
- Grand Theft Auto characters reflect a range of ages, from young to middle-aged adults, adding depth and complexity to the game's narratives.
- Despite controversies over its content, GTA remains a popular and successful franchise, with different characters appealing to players of various ages.
- New characters and the announcement of GTA 6 have generated excitement among fans, showcasing the franchise's ability to evolve while staying true to its roots.
Grand Theft Auto is a franchise that has run for a long time and produced a lot of quality games that have gone down as some of the most memorable and beloved in history. Taking a lot of heat for the way it seemingly glorifies violence and crime, the games have nevertheless been hugely and consistently successful.
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While it has been over a decade since the last new game in the Grand Theft Auto series was released, it is fascinating to take a look back at the various main characters in the games over the years and examine who they are as people.
Updated on March 19th, 2025, by Chris Harkin: Although the Grand Theft Auto franchise is about to get a huge new entry later this year with Grand Theft Auto 6, this hasn't slowed down the love and nostalgia fans feel for the older entries in this series. There is a lot of history to Grand Theft Auto as a franchise, and although some younger fans may not have played anything before GTA 5, it is worth remembering everything from the defining PS2 era trilogy to the handheld games and spin-offs that have kept the series running for over two decades and across many different generations of gaming consoles.
12 Grand Theft Auto
Various Ages
Grand Theft Auto
- Released
- November 28, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
The first Grand Theft Auto game allowed players their choice of eight different characters. Their names were Bubba, Divine, Katie, Kivlov, Mikki, Travis, Troy, and Ulrika. The player actually gets to choose the name of their character after selecting them, and the story doesn’t revolve at all around the character, making the choice a purely cosmetic one.
As this is the case, nothing is really known about the ages or history of the characters. Various homages were paid by the character designs; Divine was based on Blaxploitation heroines like Pam Grier, and Travis was an homage to Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.
11 Grand Theft Auto: London 1961/1969
Various Ages
Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
- Released
- June 1, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Racing, Sandbox
The London mission packs later added to the first Grand Theft Auto game were similar in nature to that entry, providing a list of eight different characters that the player could select as theirs for the duration of the game. However, like GTA 1, the choice of character in the London mission packs made absolutely no difference to the story of the games.
The variety was inspired by a series of different sub-cultures within the UK in the 60s, from The Beatles to a character modeled after actor Michael Caine, and a character based on the bassist from the Sex Pistols. "Spiv", "Mod", "Hippie" and "Rudeboy" cultures were all made use of in an attempt to give a diverse look at the UK of the 1960s, the decade during which both mission packs were set. However, little is known about the backstories of most of these characters, making it difficult to say what most of their ages actually were.
10 Grand Theft Auto 2
Claude (28)
Grand Theft Auto 2
- Released
- February 13, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Shooter
In the second game, there was still a severe lack of story or backstory for the main character, but partly through a short promotional film that was created to advertise the release of the game, players learn that the character is named Claude Speed and that he has just been released from prison.
Due to the futuristic events and confusing timeline of Grand Theft Auto 2, it can be difficult to decide on the age for Claude, but his suspected age is around 28. The game describes the player character as a mongrel that nobody trusts.
9 Grand Theft Auto 3
Claude (29) & Catalina (31)
Grand Theft Auto 3
- Released
- October 23, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
Considered one of the most influential games of all time, Grand Theft Auto 3 again focused on a silent protagonist named Claude. This time, Claude is betrayed and shot by his girlfriend Catalina during a heist. After escaping during a prison transfer, Claude becomes friends with another convict, 8-Ball, and manages to join up with the local Mafia and later the Yakuza in Liberty City.
Claude is supposed to be around 29 during the events of Grand Theft Auto 3, while Catalina is around 31. Though Catalina dies at this age, Claude's fate remains uncertain, so he could well be a great deal older today.
8 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Tommy Vercetti (35), Lance Vance (32), Sonny Forelli (40), & Ken Rosenberg (33)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Released
- October 29, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
Featuring a huge story and another massive set of actors like Ray Liotta, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Burt Reynolds, and Luis Guzman, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was an epic turning point for video games. The leading character is Tommy Vercetti, a mobster who is released from prison at the beginning of the game and goes on an adventure to try and take over the criminal underworld of Vice City.
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Tommy is supposed to be 35 during the events of Vice City, having gone to prison for murder at the age of 20 and serving fifteen years there. Other characters like his former boss and now rival, Sonny Forelli, is around 40 in the game, and crooked lawyer Ken Rosenberg is another major character thought to be 33. Lance Vance, a main character who later becomes a thorn in Tommy's side, is approximately 32 years old.
7 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
CJ (24) & Sweet (26)
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Released
- October 26, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
Some of the things that almost all the GTA games share the acclaim, controversy over the level of violence, and the way they depict many aspects of criminal life. But Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was on another level for the open world and the storytelling it managed to accomplish, helping it become the highest-selling PS2 game ever.
San Andreas focuses on Carl “CJ” Johnson, who returns to Liberty City following his mother’s death after leaving the gang life behind years prior. He is 24 during the events of the game, while his brother, Sweet, is 27.
6 Grand Theft Auto Advance
Mike (Late 20s)
Grand Theft Auto Advance
- Released
- October 26, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
There isn't a lot of information available about the protagonist of the first true handheld GTA game. Though both the first and second main games were ported to the Game Boy, they were relatively unsuccessful attempts to bring the franchise to that format. GTA Advance did a much better job, telling an original story which was a prequel to GTA III, focusing on small-time criminal Mike whose partner was killed, sending Mike on a path of revenge.
GTA Advance had all the classic story hallmarks of the franchise, without focusing too much on narrative. That means it is hard to place an exact age for Mike, who vanished happily from the franchise by moving to Bermuda with his wealth at the conclusion of his adventure. It seems, though, that Mike was old enough to have already gained a lot of wealth alongside his partner in the criminal game, but young enough to still look like he might be under 30.
5 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Toni Cipriani (28-29)
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Released
- October 25, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Sandbox
Set three years before the events of Grand Theft Auto 3, the spin-off Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories focuses on Toni Cipriani, a character who played a significant role in the third game. He begins this prequel by returning home after four years abroad due to his murder of a "made man," for which many in Liberty City still feel embittered against him.
Toni managed to assist the Leone Crime Family in taking out their rivals and becoming the single largest faction in the criminal underworld of Liberty City by the time GTA 3 began. He went from a young, hungry criminal who was around 28-29 in Liberty City Stories to a fat cat who'd done the hard work and was reaping his rewards in those intervening years, despite it being a relatively short time period.
4 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Vic Vance (32)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Released
- October 31, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Third-Person Shooter
The other prequel game of the early 3D GTA years, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, featured Vic Vance as the protagonist. Much more than most characters in the franchise, Vic actually disliked the idea of getting into the criminal life at first and was pulled in by his superior while he was still in the army.
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The booming Vice City drug trade was alluring to someone who needed money for his family, but after being betrayed by the man who got him into crime and kicked from the army, Vic turned into a true criminal and later got his revenge. In Vice City Stories, Vic is only 32 but is 34 during his appearance in Vice City.
3 Grand Theft Auto 4
Niko Bellic (30), Roman Bellic (31), Johnny Klebitz (34), & Luis Lopez (25)
Grand Theft Auto 4
- Released
- April 29, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
More resembling the modern style that GTA 5 players are used to, Grand Theft Auto 4 was set in Liberty City during 2008 and centered on Eastern European immigrant Niko Bellic, who arrives in Liberty City looking to escape his past and start a new life.
The intriguing story and different character styles were parts of what made GTA 4 a great entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise; it managed to keep things fresh after the consistent style of the previous three games. Niko is 30 by the time he arrives in Liberty City, while other characters significant to the game, like Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez, are respectively 34 and 25. Niko's cousin, Roman Bellic, is roughly 31 years of age.