Top Ten Grand Theft Auto Playable Characters

A list of the different playable characters in the GTA universe ranked on their respective qualities.
The Top Ten
1 Niko Bellic Niko Bellic is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of Rockstar North's 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, also featuring as a supporting character in its episodic content The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, all of which are published by Rockstar Games.

Honestly, a good argument could be made for Niko to be number 1. One thing Grand Theft Auto IV definitely got right was its characters and Niko Bellic was no exception to that. A torn and emotional protagist, Niko is incredibly likable and we can't help but feel sorry for the rough life he has had.

Niko Is Cool! I Very Like Him, I really Stay neutral with him Like Switzerland on WW2, But Those idiotic People destroy my car!, So I shout because of them, roman bellic annoys me a lot because of the lets go and other quotes

Niko is the most emotional and the deepest character. Unlike other Grand Theft Auto characters Niko has got emotions. He shows the dark side of crime.

Niko is definitely the deepest character. He's a killing machine with remorse and a big medley of human emotions.

2 Carl "CJ" Johnson

Carl C.J. Johnson will forevermore be the best. He is one of the reasons why Grand Theft Auto SA was so famous. Mention the game Grand Theft Auto in some areas and they will be confused because their name for Grand Theft Auto SA is C.J. The bro has made San Andreas a religion. Compared to all the characters, he's the only one that can do almost anything you'd wish you were able to do in Grand Theft Auto. Is it dating, swimming, dancing, going to gym, learning martial arts, sex, owning businesses and properties, robbing houses, customizing the character? CJ can do anything. Besides he has had the most character development in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Carl changed the face of Grand Theft that is why even after ten eleven years, people still consider San Andreas the best. Niko is good but CJ is on a whole new level. Had SA been made in 2013, with improved graphics and storylines, Niko wouldn't stand a chance at all.

San Andreas was the best Grand Theft Auto game and one of the reasons for that was its protagonist, a likable and relatable character who in stuck trying to get out of a rough life.

The level of CJ hype is ridiculous. San Andreas is the best game in the series, but that doesn't mean the main character is the best character.

The guy is really just a yes-man thug who gets a little holier than thou at times. He's basically a Grand Theft Auto version of a Mary Sue.

3 Tommy Vercetti Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is a fictional character, the protagonist and playable character in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a game in the Grand Theft Auto series. He is voiced by Ray Liotta.

Tommy is the most dangerous gangster in Vice City. He is voiced by Ray Liotta, who also starred in a movie "Good Fellas". Really likeable voice, in my opinion. What I have always liked about him is the fact that he is the kingpin of Vice City.

Vercetti was the first protagonist in the game to be voiced and he sure is memorable.

4 Trevor Phillips Trevor Phillips is a character from the game Grand Theft Auto Five (GTAV), a Mature rated game from 2013, created by Rockstar. He is one of the games 3 antagonists. He is the former friend of Michael DeSanta, who he was part of a bank heist with 9 years prior to the main plot. He is known for being a psychotic, racist, blood-thirsty gang leader of other crazy characters in GTAV.

The acting is great. Initially I thought Trevor was going to be a novelty character, but on top of the chaos, he's a lot of things. Intelligent, politically inquisitive, loyal to friends and has a selective range of empathy.

No other character represents the carnage of Grand Theft Auto like Trevor does. In fact, he's probably the only character who could honestly be seen doing all of the crazy things that players do in the free roam.

5 Michael De Santa Michael De Santa, formerly Michael Townley, is one of the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V, along with Franklin Clinton and Trevor Philips.

If Trevor represents the abhorrent evils of the world, Michael represents the more civilized subtle ones. He is the most relatable and human of the three main characters. Mixed between greed, a desire for peace, an ill temper, suburban living and hating suburban living, he's a hypocrite like all of us.

If Trevor represents the carnage of Grand Theft Auto, then Michael represents the lifestyle. A big house, big money etc. He's a character with lots of layers to him and one who is positively memorable.

Michael Is An Interesting Character, Definitely My Favorite

6 Franklin Clinton Franklin Clinton is one of the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V, along with Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips.

Despite being the original and main protagonist of Grand Theft Auto V, Franklin definitely takes a back seat to Michael and Trevor. This isn't to say that Franklin isn't a good character, but he just doesn't feel as quirky and original as his two Grand Theft Auto V counterparts. However, he is a likable character and he is fun to control.

He's the most shallow of the 3 Grand Theft Auto V characters. He doesn't develop at all. He's in it for the money and is selfish. Then he gets the money, becomes more selfish, but for some pointless reason, he sticks around with two guys who are wanted by the feds.

He should be number 3, ALSO he is the only character who can't possibly die in the final mission

7 Luis Lopez Luis Fernando Lopez is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series, appearing as a supporting character in Grand Theft Auto IV and The Lost and Damned and the protagonist of The Ballad of Gay Tony.

The Ballad of Gay Tony was FAR from my favorite Grand Theft Auto game, but it did feature a memorable and likable enough protagonist. Luis didn't feel nearly as original as other characters and his personality in and of itself is not very exciting. But he is one fun part of an otherwise forgettable game.

Luis Lopez is probably the most decent and least mentally Grand Theft Auto protagonist. He's only a body guard (and protege of Big Tony) whose trying to move up in life out of the ghetto. He really just does his job throughout the game.

8 Johnny Klebitz Jonathan "Johnny" Klebitz is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series. He appears as a supporting character in Grand Theft Auto IV and The Ballad of Gay Tony, the protagonist of The Lost and Damned, and a minor character in Grand Theft Auto V.

Nobody who played Grand Theft Auto IV really liked the Lost MC. In fact, many players disliked the motorcycle club. However, when Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and the Damned gave us an inside look at the group and its soon to be leader, they became slightly more likable, at least for the duration of that game. Johnny is a very reasonable character who, more often that not, has to keep his fellow bikers in line.

His fate in Grand Theft Auto V is a sad one, but not one out of left field. His main character flaw his his inability to cope with loss. In losing the motorcycle club, he resorted back to Ashley, whose drug habits dragged him down with her.

9 Claude Speed Claude Speed is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 2.

While Claude certainly isn't the first character to come to mind, he does hold his own. For starters, he is the only Grand Theft Auto character to serve as a protagonist in two different Grand Theft Auto games (Grand Theft Auto II AND Grand Theft Auto III). He also has a btief cameo in San Andreas. Claude is entirely mute and lets his actions and crimes speak for him.

Claude Speed is silent character not dumb. He should be in 4th or 5th position.
My list will go like this:
1. Carl Johnson
2. Niko Bellic
3. Tommy Vercetti
4. Claude Speed
5. Trevor Philips

10 Victor Vance Victor "Vic" Vance is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series, who appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and a minor, but key, character in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Vance met an unfortunate ending at the beginning of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. But during Vice City Stories, this former soldiers took to a life of crime to pay for his dying brother's medical treatments. It's a shame to see him die for something that this otherwise morally grounded char tear should never have even gotten into,

The Contenders
11 Tony Cipriani Antonio "Toni" Cipriani is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and a main character in Grand Theft Auto III.
12 Huang Lee Huang Lee is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
13 Lester Crest
14 Toni Cipriani
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