This weekend, MCM Comic Con in London was a large event, with guests from around the world visiting including the cast of the world’s best-selling game – Grand Theft Auto 5. Ned Luke (Michael), Shawn Fonteno (Franklin) and Steven Ogg (Trevor) all hosted a panel at the convention giving words and answering questions about the game and their lives after featuring as the protagonists.
Shawn Fonteno mentioned that Rockstar Games had to remove the word “N***a” over 15,000 times as he improvised it into his lines too much whilst recording the game. Of course, you can still hear many of these n words during Franklin’s dialogue, and this doesn’t include the use of the words on the in-game radio stations and advertisements too. Obviously, the curse words in Grand Theft Auto 5 are used completely as a parody of American life – which is the entire premise of the series – but using them over 15,000 times is too much even for Rockstar Games, apparently.
During voice recording sessions, “[t]here was only a certain number of f**ks you can say.” Steven Ogg mentioned, adding to Fonteno’s reveal. “I would always do the reading as poorly as possible so that they [had to use the one with curse words]”.
Other interesting answers from the cast included the confirmation of no Story Mode DLC and that all three would happily “do it if they were asked”. One fan asked about the Chiliad Mystery and what they thought of it, with Ned Luke sarcastically giving an answer of going into the ocean atthef tauto 5 exactly 78 feet near Del Perro Pier. When Steven Ogg was asked what the most difficult thing of recording for the game was, he mentioned how 80% of it was motion capture without relevant props. Fonteno added that they had to pretend that a crate was a car and that it was extremely difficult. “You really have to commit to where you are”, Ogg added.
Steven Ogg is currently starring in The Walking Dead and Westworld, although he rose to fame for his portrayal of Trevor Philips in Grand Theft Auto 5. Ned Luke has been off the radar since his portrayal of Michael De Santa in Grand Theft Auto 5, and Shawn Fonteno appeared in a 2017 comedy called Grow House – he is famous for his role as Franklin Clinton in Grand Theft Auto 5 and being a rapper under the name Solo.