GTA Online Characters Guide

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David Coulson

Beginning his gaming journey in 1993 SNES as an avid Super Mario World fan, his passion for games led him into journalism in 2019. When he's not cranking 90s in Pleasant Park, he can often be found playing the latest releases including Resident Evil, The Legend of Zelda, and Grand Theft Auto.

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Introduction

Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most successful games of all time, with it being the second best-selling game of all time, only behind Minecraft. The game still generates over $1 billion per year in revenue despite being first released in 2013. This is mainly due to Grand Theft Auto Online, the PVP mode that accompanies GTA V, which takes you online as you build your criminal empire alongside millions of other players.

Bottom Line Up Front

Since GTA Online was first released in 2014, the game has received many updates. These have added many missions and new content to the game and included a wacky cast of characters. Some of these characters include existing characters from GTA V, such as Franklin Clintton and Lester Crest, and some have added brand new characters that have never been seen in the series.

GTA Online Characters Guide

This list will detail all of the important NPC characters that have been added to GTA Online over its lifecycle, broken down by update to make things more organized. For this, I will only be detailing the significant characters in the game that impact the story. Many minor characters in the gameplay play little to no role in the story and are often throwaway NPCs.

Main Characters

The Protagonist (You)

Unlike GTA V, you don’t play as Michael, Trevor, or Franklin. Instead, you play as a unique character in GTA Online whose appearance can be customized, including gender, clothing, and overall appearance traits.

One notable trait about your character is that they don’t speak and have no voice acting in the game, opting to remain silent instead. I can only assume this is, so they didn’t have to do the entire dialogue with multiple actors, along with contracting them to do any updates and expansions. Keeping the same voice actor for almost a decade would be crucial to keep things consistent.

Lamar Davis

Anyone who has played the single-player aspect of GTA V will instantly recognize Lamar Davis as one of Franklin’s good friends and someone who is a featured character at the start of the game.

Your character becomes friends with Lamar on Lifeinvader, the Facebook parody social media platform in GTA V. Lamar then brings you to Los Santos where you remain as you build your criminal empire.

Lamar is a key part of the early games, especially before the many updates were released, and continues to make appearances throughout the game, including the Lowriders update alongside Gerald.

Gerald

Gerald becomes acquainted with you early in GTA Online through his friendship with Lamar. His missions involve you attacking his drug dealer rivals and stealing their supplies.

Simeon Yetarian

Simeon is another returning character from GTA V, you will notice a theme here with these early inclusions. As with GTA V, Simeon owns a car dealership, and he offers you jobs to locate vehicles and bring them to him in exchange for money.

Lester Crest

In GTA V, Lester is the man that pulls all of the strings from behind the scenes, with him being the ringleader behind the heists that Michael, Trevor, and Franklin take part in.

When it comes to GTA Online, Lester plays a very similar role. In addition to allowing you to place a bounty on another player, Lester is also a key player in setting up heists that you can take part in to make big money in the game.

Trevor Philips

Trevor is one of the three playable characters in GTA V, and he also makes an appearance in GTA Online. As you continue to build your reputation in Los Santos, Trevor eventually calls you to his trailer to accuse you of harming his business, which opens up the TP Enterprises’ missions. These missions often see you fighting The Lost MC, a rival gang of Trevor.

Later on, with the Heist update, Trevor returned to the game by playing a major role in the Series A heist, appearing throughout the process.

Ron Jakowski

Ron is Trevor’s right-hand man and often the character you deal with while working for Trevor Enterprises.

Along with Trevor, Ron appears during the Series A heist and helps with the setup process. Ron also helps set up your smuggling business to bring illegal goods to Los Santos.

Martin Madrazo

Martin is the leader of the Madrazo Cartel. Because of this, his missions tend to focus on ensuring his Cartel remains on top. This has you taking out his rival Cartels and any threats to his business.

Heist Update

Lester, Trevor, and Ron play significant roles in the Heist update. Still, this guide won’t mention them here as they have been discussed previously.

Agent 14

Agent 14 plays a major role in the Heist update, working alongside Lester Crest to help set up the missions for you. He also appears as part of the Gunrunning update, where he is part of the Mobile Operations missions.

Karen Daniels

Karen is a member of the IAA, GTA V/Online’s version of the CIA. She plays a role in some of the heist missions, helping the player with key codes and intel to help further the mission.

The Doomsday Heist

Whenever the word heist is in the name, you can bet that Lester has his hands in it, and the Doomsday Heist is no exception. Along with Agent 14, Lester plays a key role in setting up the lucrative but dangerous Doomsday Heist missions.

Phoenicia Rackman

Phoenicia is an agent with the IAA that plays a prominent role in the second act of the Doomsday Heist, initially weary of you upon first meeting you.

Avon Hertz

Avon is the mastermind behind Clifford’s AI neural network, which hacks into mainframes and takes over nuclear weapons.

The Diamond Casino Heist

Georgina Cheng

Georgina is the brother of Tao, the owner of Diamond Casino & Resort, and Vice President of Cheng Family Holdings. Along with Lester, she ropes you into a plan to do the Diamond Casino Heists as revenge for taking the casino from Tao.

Huang

Huang is also an employee of Cheng Family Holdings and participates in the Casino Heists.

The Cayo Perico Heist

Miguel Madrazo

The Cayo Perico heist introduced a brand new island to GTA Online and is the biggest update the game has seen to date. Miguel is part of the Madrazo family and the son of Martin Madrazo. Miguel entrusts you with stealing important files from one of his suppliers Juan Strickler.

Juan Strickler

Juan Strickler is a narcotrafficker and owner of the Cayo Perico Island. He enters a feud with Miguel and the Madrazo family after being threatened to have intel taken to the DEA to take down his criminal empire.

Pavel

Pavel is a Russian sailor associated with the Madrazo family during the Cayo Perico Heist. He utilizes his submarine as part of the heists.

After Hours

Tony Prince

Tony Prince is best known as the nightclub owner in the GTA IV: The Lost and Damned, and The Ballad of Gay Tony expansions, the latter being named after him. He again makes an appearance in GTA Online by managing the Nightclub businesses you own in the game.

Lazlow Jones

Lazlow Jones is a radio and TV host who is in charge of promoting the nightclub to attract VIP clients. He is one of the most recurring characters in the GTA franchise, having appeared in GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories, GTA IV and its expansions, and GTA V/Online.

English Dave

English Dave is the promoter for your nightclub and is in charge of hosting events in the club.

Paige Harris

Paige builds you a Terrorbyte to use in your criminal businesses and gives you Client Jobs to take part in.

The Diamond Casino & Resort

Agatha Baker

Agatha is the main character you will interact with at the Diamond Casino & Resort. Although on the surface, she comes across as a woman that doesn’t get involved in any criminal activities, in reality, she is very deep in it. She plays a vital role across all missions as part of the update.

Avery Duggan

Avery is a crook, the leader of an elite Texan oil tycoon family, with the goal of taking down the casino to purchase it at the lowest price possible.

Brucie Kibbutz

Brucie is a returning character from GTA IV; you may remember him as the fitness freak and owner of Bull Shark Testosterone which is always wired and on edge. Following his move to Los Santos, he becomes a fitness aide for the Triads but accidentally starts a war between the Triads and Avery’s family because of his Bull Shark Testosterone.

Tao Cheng

Tao Cheng is a member of the Cheng Family, a criminal Triad organization. Cheng is the owner of the Diamond Casino & Resort and is embroiled in a war with the Duggan family.

Tao Cheng’s Translator

Tao Cheng’s Translator works for Cheng translating his Chinese to English and vice-versa, and doesn’t play any role in the story apart from that.

Thornton Duggan

Thornton is the nephew of Avery Duggan. Rather than bankrupt the casino to purchase it cheaply, Thornton is trying to keep it afloat and go against his uncle.

Tom Connors

Tom is in charge of guest services at the Diamond Casino & Resort and appears in many of the missions in the update, including Loose Cheng, House Keeping, Strong Arm Tactics, Play to Win, Bad Beat, and Cashing out. He also appears in the Diamond Casino Heist and Cayo Perico Heist.

Vincent

Vincent is the casino’s head of security and helps you defend the casino against the Duggan family.

Bikers

Lester again appears in the Bikers update under the nickname “Long John Teabag”. The Open Road Network is a parody of the dark web and Tor browser. Lester is the platform’s creator for you to carry out your illegal businesses.

Malc

Malc returns to the GTA series as part of the Bikers update, having last been seen in the GTA IV: The Lost and Damned expansion. He introduces you to the Motorcycle Club when this set of missions begins.

Arena War

Alan Jerome

The Arena War update is very fun, with it being a PVP vehicle mode, and Alan Jerome is the man you have to thank for it. He owns Arena War which is hosted at the Maze Bank Arena.

Bryony

Bryony is the assistant for Alan Jerome and is mainly known for periodically calling you if you have yet to purchase an Arena Workshop.

Los Santos Summer Special

Brendan Darcy

Brendan is the Captain of the Galaxy Super Yacht that you can acquire, giving you six new missions to complete as part of the Superyacht Life missions.

Los Santos Tuners

Sessanta

Sessanta is the head mechanic at the Auto Shop and gives you the missions to take part in during the Auto Shop Robberies missions.

Kenny Dixon Jr.

Kenny provides you with Contracts but stays behind the scenes, only appearing to give you your paycheck for the job. He also takes part in the Cayo Perico Heists missions.

Mimi

Mimi is in charge of the LS Car Meets and can often be found sat in the back of her Minivan. 

Hao

Hao is a mechanic at Los Santos Customs and handling the races available to take part in across Los Santos.

The Contract

Franklin Clinton

Franklin is one of the playable characters in GTA V. Finally, he has made an appearance in GTA Online as part of The Contract. After becoming a successful entrepreneur following his time committing heists with Michael and Trevor, Franklin teams up with you on a new business venture.

Imani

Imani works as a tech expert and hacker for Franklin’s F. Clinton and Partner agency. She plays a crucial role in the Security Contracts and works with Dr. Dre.

Dr. Dre 

Yes, you read this right, the billionaire rapper is a character in GTA Online. Dr. Dre came into the game as part of the Cayo Perico Heist, trying to locate a phone containing unreleased music.

Jonathan Henderson

Jonathan Henderson is an executive of WesLos Records and an enemy of Dr. Dre. It transpires that Henderson is the person that stole Dre’s phone containing his unreleased music. Johnny Guns gives copies of the music to numerous people who plan to release it themselves.

The Criminal Enterprises

Agent ULP

Agent ULP is a senior agent in the IAA and the special agent for Operation Paper Trail, tasked with taking down the Duggan family.

Mason Duggan

Mason Duggan is a member of the oil tycoon Duggan family and owner of The Los Santos State Gas Company. Mason uses the Clifford AI to strategize ways to increase gas prices to further make money for the family after securing assets from corrupt FIB agents.

FAQs

Conclusion

GTA Online has a vast and varied cast of characters which is only set to increase as time goes on, helping to give the game plenty of content for players to jump into. Jumping back into GTA Online today for the first time in a long time like I have with the Criminal Enterprise update, it is surreal to see how much the game has changed. Los Santos has been expanded with new areas, buildings, missions, characters, and even a vastly expanded soundtrack full of songs that can’t be heard in the game’s single-player portion.

Suppose you feel that you’ve gotten all of the mileage out of GTA V that you can. I wouldn’t blame you, considering it is almost a decade old. In that case, GTA Online should give you plenty of reasons to explore Los Santos again and sink hundreds of more hours into the game.