Looking at the backstory for all three GTA Trilogy protagonists

A new generation of gamers might be willing to play the GTA Trilogy, so they may wish to know the backstories of each protagonist.

The origin stories of Claude, Tommy Vercetti, and CJ aren't too difficult to grasp. GTA stories are simple to follow, but some elements of their stories aren't immediately obvious. This is especially true for Claude and CJ, as not everything is told to the player in-game.

In Claude's case, most of his backstory comes from GTA San Andreas. By comparison, some of CJ's story is explained through The Introduction. It was a short film that took place before the events of GTA San Andreas.

Otherwise, all three protagonists' backstories are pretty straightforward.

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What are Claude, Tommy Vercetti, and CJ's backstories in the GTA Trilogy?

Claude, Tommy Vercetti, and Carl Johnson (Image via Rockstar Games)

It's worth mentioning that the three protagonists of the GTA Trilogy play very differently from GTA 5's protagonists. Anybody who will play the GTA Trilogy for the first time should understand that all three games take place in different eras:

• GTA 3 took place in 2001.
• GTA Vice City took place in 1986.
• GTA San Andreas took place in 1992.

The remainder of this article focuses on the origin stories for all three protagonists and will primarily cover the events before their respective games. The latter point includes chronological events based on the year.

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Claude's backstory

Claude, as he appears in the GTA Trilogy (Image via Rockstar Games)

Claude is the protagonist of GTA 3 and will return in the same role in the GTA Trilogy. He is a mute protagonist, so he never explicitly tells the player anything that occurs.

However, players can see Catalina betray him at the beginning of the game. The two of them were an item together, and they hit several banks across America. GTA San Andreas has the two characters meet together, giving more insight into Claude's backstory.

Claude's original appearance (Image via Rockstar Games)

He owned the Doherty Garage back in 1992, before losing it to CJ in a race. Rockstar Games once answered in a Q&A:

"He’s a bank robber with a noisy and psychotic girlfriend. More than that, it is hard to say. Definitely a drifter, probably from the west coast, new to Liberty City. Surname may or may not be Speed."

It adds a little more to Claude's backstory, as it states that he is a drifter and is new to Liberty City. The last sentence is a reference to GTA 2's protagonist, Claude Speed.

If Claude were Claude Speed, then it would mean that he lived in Anywhere City and betrayed all of the gangs there for the money.

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Tommy Vercetti's backstory

How Tommy Vercetti looks in the GTA Trilogy (Image via Rockstar Games)

The most important thing that new GTA Trilogy players should know about Tommy Vercetti is that he served a 15-year sentence. This lengthy sentence came from killing 11 people in Harwood, Liberty City, for the Forelli Family. Thus, he earned the nickname "The Harwood Butcher."

He was initially supposed to kill just one person, but Sonny Forelli set him up with 11 hitmen instead. In an interview with IGN, Dan Houser revealed that:

"Tommy has never voiced any dissatisfaction with the Forelli's, or questioned their integrity, but Sonny Forelli, head of the family and a childhood friend of Vercetti's doesn't want him in Liberty City, so he arranges for Vercetti to go down to Vice City on business."

Tommy Vercetti's original appearance (Image via Rockstar Games)

Thus, GTA Trilogy players see Tommy Vercetti in Vice City. That interview states that Tommy Vercetti and Sonny Forelli were childhood friends, which the game never mentions.

GTA Trilogy players may also wish to know that Tommy Vercetti's father worked in print works and that Tommy helped him clean the rollers. Initially, Tommy wanted to follow his father in that trade but joined the Forelli Family instead.

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CJ's backstory

CJ is on the far right in this GTA Trilogy screenshot (Image via Rockstar Games)

According to The Introduction, Carl "CJ" Johnson never knew his father and worked in Liberty City doing minor crimes for the Leone Family. He was in Liberty City because he wished to escape Los Santos after his brother, Brian, died.

Most importantly, The Introduction shows the Green Sabre drive-by that killed CJ's mom. Thus, CJ returns to Los Santos and re-encounters C.R.A.S.H., as the players will see in GTA Trilogy.

Before that, CJ grew up with the likes of Ryder and Big Smoke back in Grove Street. The player will meet several characters in the GTA Trilogy who already know CJ, which is a stark difference compared to the previous two protagonists.

CJ knows characters like Frank Tenpenny already, but it isn't specified how or when they met beforehand (Image via Rockstar Games)

For example, Claude and Tommy Vercetti were new to Liberty City and Vice City, respectively. In CJ's case, he's already lived in Los Santos for several years.

As GTA San Andreas is the most recent game of the GTA Trilogy, CJ doesn't appear or be referenced in the other two games.