The original Grand Theft Auto tells its crime story through a selectable protagonist, ringing telephones, pager messages, and terse mission instructions. Its cast connects the player to competing criminal groups across Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City, long before cinematic introductions became a series trademark.
The eight selectable protagonists share the same campaign. Choosing one changes the player portrait, not the mission list. Some supporting names are known only through mission text, so the roster leaves individual background details blank where no reliable source establishes them.
Role
Playable Characters
Eight selectable identities available in the original game's protagonist selection.
Bubba
- Status
- playable
Mikki
- Status
- playable
Divine
- Status
- playable
Travis
- Status
- playable
Katie
- Status
- playable
Kivlov
- Status
- playable
Troy
- Status
- playable
Ulrika
- Status
- playable
Role
Mission Bosses
Major employers who organize the Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City campaigns.
Robert Seragliano
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Status
- antagonist
- Location
- Liberty City
- First Appearance
- Heist Almighty - Liberty City
Uncle Fu
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu Crime Syndicate
- Status
- antagonist
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- Phone Job 1 - San Andreas
El Burro (GTA)
- Affiliation
- El Burro Gang
- Status
- antagonist
- Location
- San Andreas
- First Appearance
- Phone Job 1 - San Andreas
Samuel Deever
- Affiliation
- VCPD (Corrupt Unit)
- Status
- antagonist
- Location
- Vice City
- First Appearance
- Phone Job 1 - Vice City
Brother Marcus
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Status
- antagonist
- Location
- Vice City
- First Appearance
- Phone Job 1 - Vice City
Role
Criminal Associates
Family members, gang contacts, mission targets, and other underworld figures.
Vercotti Crime Family contact
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Sonetti
- Affiliation
- Sonetti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Cabot
- Affiliation
- Sonetti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Jimmy Waterson
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Dulli
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Tony Dio
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Tommy Romero
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Skye
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Pablo Vercotti
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Seymour Reamer
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Vega
- Affiliation
- Vercotti Crime Family
- Location
- Liberty City
Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate contact
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Hung Well
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Pu Ling
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Chu Ying
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Pu Ping
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Ho Ching
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Lei Ming
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Chu Wing Dung
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
No Chin
- Affiliation
- No Chin's Gang
- Location
- San Andreas
Hang Yu
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Jimmy the Shovel
- Affiliation
- Jimmy the Shovel's Gang
- Location
- San Andreas
Yu Pong
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Wun Tun Chun
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Ho Hung
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Long Wang
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Chow Yun Thin
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Don Traegeri
- Affiliation
- Unnamed Mafia family
Keith Ham Yel Tun
- Affiliation
- Uncle Fu's Crime Syndicate
- Location
- San Andreas
Julio
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Monolito
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Paulo
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Ricardo
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Alve
- Affiliation
- Alve's Gang
- Location
- San Andreas
Paco
- Affiliation
- Paco's Gang
- Location
- San Andreas
Pepe (GTA)
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Jorge
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Jose (GTA)
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Pedro
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Alfonso
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Rodrigo
- Affiliation
- El Burro
- Location
- San Andreas
Jimi
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Leroy
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Aerol
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Maelcum
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Big Ginge
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Boab
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Davey
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Eck
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Granpaw
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Hen
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Horace
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Joe
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Paw
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Soapy
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Wullie
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Brother Zachary
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Sister Bairn
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Sister Daphne
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Sister Maggie
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Sister Maw
- Affiliation
- Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love
- Location
- Vice City
Role
Law Enforcement
Named police and vice-squad characters.
Mike Tallon
- Affiliation
- SAPD
- Status
- law_enforcement
- Location
- San Andreas
Pauly
- Affiliation
- Vice Squad
- Status
- law_enforcement
- Location
- Vice City
Dell
- Affiliation
- VCPD
- Status
- law_enforcement
- Location
- Vice City
Role
Other Characters
Supporting figures whose criminal affiliation is not established.
Brad (GTA)
- Affiliation
- Skye
Crazy Bob
- Location
- Liberty City
Mel
- Location
- Liberty City
Coffey
- Location
- Liberty City
Chink
- Location
- Liberty City
Shitter
- Location
- Liberty City
Dumb Kurt
- Location
- Liberty City
Bryson
- Location
- San Andreas
Mr. Kivlane
- Location
- San Andreas
Mr. Watersane
- Location
- San Andreas
Mr. Watsane
- Location
- San Andreas
Mr. Johnsane
- Location
- San Andreas
Begbie
- Affiliation
- Samuel Deever
- Location
- Vice City
Spindly Jim
- Location
- Vice City
Judge Alberts
- Location
- Vice City
The playable protagonist
At the start of the original computer release, you choose from several named protagonists, including Bubba, Divine, Katie, Kivlov, Mikki, Travis, Troy, and Ulrika. The choice is visual rather than mechanical: each identity follows the same campaign, receives the same jobs, and has no unique ability or personal mission path. The PlayStation release narrows the available choices to the male protagonists, while other ports handle the selection differently.
Because the protagonist has little fixed characterization, the player supplies most of the personality through action. Reckless car theft, careful score building, and survival under a rising wanted level all belong to the same role, regardless of the chosen portrait or name.
Crime bosses across the campaign
The campaign moves through Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City, with each city introducing a different criminal network. Robert "Bubby" Seragliano and the Vercotti organization dominate much of the Liberty City material, alongside rivals and associates connected to the city's family conflicts.
San Andreas shifts attention to Uncle Fu's syndicate and El Burro's organization. Their associates, targets, and rival gangs give the city's jobs their identity even when a person appears only in mission text. Vice City centers on corrupt police figure Samuel Deever and Brother Marcus, whose Brotherhood of Jah Army of Love provides the other major criminal thread. Police officers, informants, gang members, and disposable accomplices fill out the jobs around them.
How the game presents its cast
Grand Theft Auto does not introduce people through the long voiced scenes used by later games. Names usually arrive through on-screen instructions, telephone jobs, pager messages, brief portraits, or the objective itself. That makes affiliation more useful than screen time when working out why someone matters. A person may be an employer, the employer's associate, a rival, a police contact, or simply the target who turns a delivery into a chase.
Repeated surnames and organization names often signal a relationship, while city labels show where a figure belongs in the campaign. Do not assume that a familiar name refers to the same incarnation seen in a later GTA title. This is the original game's continuity and its own top-down version of each city.
Following names during missions
Pay attention when a job begins, because mission text can introduce a caller, driver, target, and employer in quick succession. The most important distinction is who gives the order and which organization benefits. That context explains sudden police attention, gang retaliation, or a change of destination more reliably than trying to remember every minor figure after the action starts.
For a spoiler-light playthrough, identify the current employer and city first. Dig into individual relationships after completing a job or chapter, since some names reveal betrayals, targets, and outcomes that the opening instructions deliberately leave unclear.
FAQ
Does Grand Theft Auto here mean the original game?
Yes. This covers the top-down Grand Theft Auto released in 1997, sometimes called GTA 1. It does not refer to the franchise as a whole or to Grand Theft Auto Online.
Does the chosen protagonist change the story or abilities?
No. The selectable protagonists differ in identity and appearance, but they share the same abilities, progression, and campaign. Choosing a different protagonist does not unlock a unique mission route.
Why are fewer protagonists available on PlayStation?
The PlayStation release offers a reduced character selection compared with the original computer version and omits its female protagonist choices. This does not change the campaign structure or mission progression.
Who are the main crime bosses in the original GTA?
The central employers and power brokers include Robert Seragliano in Liberty City, Uncle Fu and El Burro in San Andreas, and Samuel Deever and Brother Marcus in Vice City. Their organizations supply much of the campaign's conflict.
Why do many GTA characters have little dialogue or screen time?
The original game delivers most narrative information through text, telephone jobs, and pager messages rather than voiced cinematic scenes. Many people exist to establish an employer, target, contact, or gang connection for a specific job.
Are the GTA: London characters included?
No. GTA: London 1969 and GTA: London 1961 are separate campaigns with their own setting and cast. The names here belong to the original Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City campaign.