5 Best GTA Supporting Characters Of All Time, Ranked

"Grand Theft Auto VI" is coming, and it will bring a whole host of interesting new supporting characters with it. The "GTA VI" extended look proved that Rockstar delivers on years of hype with interesting gameplay, personable characters, and an alluring, lived-in Leonida with a massive map size.

While every "GTA VI" character we've seen so far seems fascinating in their own ways, it remains to be seen how well they stack up against the folks who came before. After all, the GTA franchise is so rife with interesting figures that folks like Raul Bautista are going to have their work cut out if they want to break into the pantheon of best GTA supporting characters. As we wait for "GTA VI" to arrive on November 19, 2026, now is the perfect time to remind ourselves of the greatest supporting players the series has offered so far.

Hey, cousin! The most prominent and certainly loudest supporting character in "Grand Theft Auto IV," Roman Bellic is protagonist Niko Bellic's dearest cousin, staunchest ally, and worst nightmare. The more than slightly inept taxi company owner acts as Niko's (and the player's) introduction to Rockstar Games' vision of the American Dream, which turns out to be more than slightly grittier than advertised.

Despite being a constant disappointment, source of stress, and a legitimate health hazard due to his well-meaning but unprofessional antics, it's very difficult to dislike Roman. His life and limb might be constantly at risk due to his tendency to get caught in criminal machinations that are several orders of magnitude bigger than his ability to comprehend them, but his compassion and humanity constantly shine through, and he acts as Niko's conscience at times when the protagonist could otherwise lose his way. One of the game's endings even combines his tendency to end up in the crosshairs with his ability to remind Niko of his humanity in a particularly cruel way, which underlines the character's effectiveness.

What a sense of humor the real Lazlow Jones must have. First as a radio DJ and then as a pathetic talent show host, he voices and lends his features to what must be the most hapless figure in the entire GTA franchise.

Still, every game needs a hate sink, and this is precisely the role that makes the GTA Lazlow so effective. During his lengthy tenure as a radio host on various GTA titles, he slides from a reasonably normal guy toward a full deviant. By the time he takes an on-screen role in "GTA V," he's a ruthless parody of washed-up celebrities who cling tooth and nail to superficial fame and the minuscule perks it brings, regardless of how awful it makes him seem. 

Vain, cowardly, and completely devoid of morality, Lazlow's true tragedy is that he's fully aware of how laughably horrible he is ... and then, he makes the worst mistake of his sad life by trying to elicit "favors" from Tracey De Santa, earning the ire of not one but two particularly brutal "GTA V" protagonists in the process. There are moments of torture in the game that are genuinely uncomfortable and framed as such, but few players will shed a single tear over the body modification treatment that Michael and Trevor put Lazlow through.

Franklin Clinton's best friend-slash-professional nuisance Lamar Davis just wants to taste some success. He's an interesting GTA figure because he's what you get when you stick someone who's not an unstoppable, unflappable protagonist into the exact same situations the player-controlled characters routinely tear through with little trouble. In "GTA V," Lamar carries himself with the hustle and bustle of a main character, but since he's just a regular operator, things usually end badly for him in these high-stakes situations. He rarely gets paid, and often ends up in trouble.

The thing about Lamar, though, is that he ultimately doesn't care about any of that — because the next big score is always around the corner. He fully believes himself to be at the same level as the game's protagonists, despite the player knowing full well that he can never hope to achieve similar heights. Lamar doesn't make smart decisions, but he's witty and charming. His endless font of self-belief and nonchalantly confident, disrespectful attitude work like a charm, elevating his likability to no end. His stint as a major "GTA Online" character only adds to his importance in the grand scheme of things.

On the surface, including Catalina on this list may seem like cheating because she's technically the big bad of "GTA 3" instead of a classic supporting character. However, she also turns up in a more traditional supporting role in "GTA: San Andreas," which cements her position with ease.

Timeline-wise, Catalina's first appearance is in "San Andreas." Here, she's a completely unhinged woman with no indoor voice — a wonderful scenery chewer who seems to loathe most everything. She's completely obsessed with protagonist CJ even after she dumps him for "GTA III" player character Claude, and generally acts like the world owes her a favor. (Which, with the hints the game drops about her tragic backstory, it very well might.) After several years of Bonnie and Clyde-ing with Claude, she unceremoniously moves to the next stage of her life, becoming a powerful drug lord and the scourge of Claude's existence.

Catalina already established her role as one of the best GTA villains of all time before she hit "San Andreas." By the time she steps in as a supporting character, she deftly shows that she can shine in that capacity just as brightly.

It's very rare for a Grand Theft Auto game to introduce a major supporting character who's so good and pure that the player is tempted to put aside the usual gleeful thirst for carnage and genuinely wish that the character will survive the events of the game and end up in a better place. In fact, it's possible that the list only includes one name: Wade Hebert.

Wade is a store brand Juggalo who ends up as Trevor Philips' well-meaning sidekick after Trevor kills his friends and convinces the young man that they've abandoned him. With little in the way of options and resources, Wade stays in Trevor's abusive care from that point on, and his family connections and surprising ability to track people down prove instrumental in Trevor's trail of destruction. However, Wade himself remains a well-meaning if rather dim young man who doesn't mean any harm to anyone and believes that everyone is inherently good — even Trevor.

With the combined magic of deft writing and Matthew Maher's skillful characterization, Wade soon becomes a character that even Trevor feels slightly sorry for, to the point that he actively attempts to cover his tracks whenever he ends up killing someone Trevor cares about. Even the game itself seems to show a rare glimpse of sympathy to the character; Wade's "GTA V" story receives a comparatively happy ending where the ladies of the Vanilla Unicorn shower him with endless attention. "GTA Online" reveals that Wade even manages to eventually reunite with his old Fooliganz gang, who approve and respect him. It couldn't have happened to a nicer GTA character.