Franklin Clinton
Voiced by Shawn Fonteno
Franklin Clinton turns up in 51 of the 77 story missions, first in Franklin and Lamar and last in The Third Way.
One of the three you switch between. The story is theirs.
- Role
- Protagonists
- Voice actor
- Shawn Fonteno
- Status
- Alive
- Occupation
- Repossession agent
- Affiliations
- Not stated
Player notes
Franklin Clinton grows up in South Los Santos and lives with his aunt Denise on Forum Drive in Strawberry. A former gangbanger looking for a way beyond street work, he repossesses cars for Simeon Yetarian with his friend Lamar Davis. Their first jobs bring them into contact with Michael De Santa, first when Michael directs them to a target and then when he hides in a car Franklin is collecting from Michael's son Jimmy. Michael makes Franklin drive through Simeon's showroom, and Simeon dismisses both Franklin and Lamar.
Franklin seeks Michael out after losing the dealership job. He helps recover Jimmy from a stolen yacht, then joins Michael's pursuit of Amanda's tennis coach. They demolish the wrong Vinewood Hills house, leaving Michael indebted to Martin Madrazo. Back in Los Santos, Franklin and Lamar chase the Balla D with Chop, but release him after Lamar alerts the police. Stretch then draws Franklin, Lamar and D into an ambush at Rogers Salvage & Scrap, where Stretch kills D and Franklin escapes with Lamar.
Michael recruits Franklin to plan and rob the Vangelico Jewelry Store, giving him the larger criminal work he has wanted. After the heist, Franklin moves into a house on Whispymound Drive in Vinewood Hills. He also carries out Lester Crest's assassination contracts, beginning with Brett Lowrey at the Hotel. When Trevor Philips arrives in Los Santos, Franklin becomes part of Michael and Trevor's unstable partnership as they deal with the FIB, the IAA and Devin Weston.
Franklin remains tied to Lamar's problems when Stretch leads them into another trap during a deal in Grove Street. He works with Michael and Trevor on the Merryweather operation, prepares the Blitz Play ambush against an armored car, and helps steal cars for Devin Weston. With Michael and Trevor, he investigates the crashed cargo plane, tracks the O'Neil brothers in Blaine County, and takes part in the Paleto Bay bank robbery. He continues Lester's contracts against targets including the executives at Redwood Cigarettes and the construction magnate Enzo Bonelli.
The FIB forces the three men into more work. Franklin joins the recovery of nerve toxin from Humane Labs, scouts the Union Depository, and helps Michael evade Devin's men while transporting stolen vehicles. When the FIB orders a raid on the Bureau, he obtains the architects' plans and helps carry out either the fire crew or roof entry operation. Stretch and the Ballas then abduct Lamar, and Franklin, Michael and Trevor fight through the sawmill at Paleto Bay to bring him home.
For the Union Depository job, Franklin helps choose the approach, gathers the required vehicles and equipment, and joins Michael and Trevor in taking the gold. Afterward, Devin Weston and Steve Haines pressure him to kill one of his partners. If Franklin chooses Michael, he pursues him to the Palmer-Taylor Power Station and watches him fall. If he chooses Trevor, they confront Trevor at the oil fields and burn him alive. If he rejects both demands, he joins Michael and Trevor to kill Stretch, Wei Cheng, Steve Haines and Devin, ending at the cliffs of Paleto Bay with both partners alive.
Trivia
- โFranklin Clinton and the GTA London Protagonists are currently the only protagonists in the series who appear as playable characters during the storylines of two different Grand Theft Auto titles.
- โDespite his date of birth never being mentioned in-game, Franklin's license plates read "FC1988" ("FC" being his initials, and 1988 being his possible birth year).
- โAccording to second stage of Children of the Mountain side quest, his e-mail address is [email protected].
- โIn the gameplay trailer, beta appearances, and official artwork, Franklin had a stripe cut out of his hair on the upper-right corner of his forehead. Although it is not part of Franklin's default appearance, the same haircut can be bought at a barber shop. Oddly enough, Franklin's icon in the Character Wheel still reflects his earlier design with the stripe cut out.
- โFranklin's default in-game ringtone is a slowed-down version of "Bump To The Music" by Fatamarse, which was featured on Lips 106, a radio station from Grand Theft Auto III.
- โAfter drinking with Jimmy, he asks Franklin if he ever "shit the bed", causing him to get defensive and be mocked by Jimmy. Also, while high, he questions whether he "shit [him]self", saying in his mind, "not again".
- โIn "Eye in the Sky", it is revealed that Franklin was once arrested for Public Exposure. According to him, it was due to him sagging in public and the LSPD committing "racial profiling". This disgusts Trevor.
- โFranklin's favourite radio stations are Radio Los Santos, West Coast Classics, and The Lab. He also appears to like blonded Los Santos 97.8 FM and iFruit Radio, which are anachronistic as both stations did not exist until 2017 and 2019 respectively. When racing, he always turns to Soulwax FM.
- โAccording to Tonya Wiggins, Franklin "fooled around" with her behind a Burger Shot when he was 13. Franklin, however, denies it and claims that nothing serious happened.
- โThis is mentioned again by Lamar in idle dialogue at Record A Studios with The Contract update.
- โIt is likely that Franklin is a Christian, or at the very least has studied the Bible at some point in his life. He immediately recognized the verse that Michael sarcastically used, after pulling down the house in "Marriage Counseling," as coming from the book of Matthew. He is also described as believing in a "white man's God." Another possible reference to Franklin's religious standing is his ability to purchase a torso tattoo quoting a biblical manuscript from 2 Corinthians 12:9 which reads: "...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Pre-release artwork of Franklin shows him with a praying hands tattoo in his neck, further supporting this theory.
- โAdditionally, the tattoo resembles an item found in "The Silk Stocking Murder", a Homicide case in L.A. Noire, another video game edited by Rockstar Games.
- โOf the three protagonists, Franklin appears to have the most compassion for animals, possibly because he is the only main character to have a pet. When he runs over a wild animal, he usually responds with compassionate quotes, such as: "Sorry, little dude!" or "Watch out, little dude!" whereas Michael usually responds with sarcasm and Trevor with dark humor.
- โFranklin's special ability may be a reference to the Zone special ability from Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition and Midnight Club: Los Angeles (other Rockstar Games titles), which allows the player to slow down time for better handling while driving.
- โFranklin's signature color is green, most likely due to his connection with the Chamberlain Gangster Families. This is seen when using his special ability by screen fading green, while Michael's ability fades blue and Trevor's fades orange.
- โThe selection of the protagonist's signature colors may be a reflection of the character's personalities and/or their individual story arcs. Green is the color of intellect and wealth, reflecting Franklin's focus on gaining money and his desire to move up in the world of organized crime.
- โEven after Franklin left Forum Drive to live at Vinewood Hills and after he stopped hanging out with his gang, he is still true to his membership with The Families. This is shown when he gets respect from other members, the player can give him tattoos that involve the gang in any way, and none of the clothing that Franklin wears is purple (not even the Los Santos Panic clothing he can purchase at Suburban have purple on them).
- โIf the player throws Molotovs at Franklin's house as Michael or Trevor, he might text the player saying: "U trying to burn my house down?".
- โFranklin is the only protagonist who cannot play tennis.
- โFranklin has an unfinished military bomb suit found in the game's files, suggesting that originally, in The Paleto Score, he would have robbed the bank lobby along with Michael and Trevor rather than the gunman in the final version.
- โBoth Franklin and Michael are known to smoke cigarettes. At Franklin's mansion, Redwood Cigarettes packs can be found scattered on tables, along with multiple ashtrays.
- โIf the player enters the in-game website PsychicShoutout and speaks with Mrs. Marcy as Franklin, she will say that she sees Lamar in her visions, having sex on Franklin's bed. This is a possible hint that Lamar had an affair with Denise Clinton, due to his multiple positive comments about her appearance. Another reference on that matter is that during the mission, "Hood Safari", Lamar is seen leaving Franklin's house with her.
- โFranklin is the only protagonist to be able to use lockpicks. Usage of lockpicks is extremely useful when trying to steal parked cars (smashing windows get detected by the police), and to avoid attracting attention of pedestrians and bystanders when stealing a parked car. The only problem with lockpicks is that the player is not able to choose whether or not Franklin uses them. However, approaching a vehicle without attacking beforehand tends to invoke their use. Franklin tends not to use lockpicks if he is in a hurry or when he's provoked (i.e. if the police sees him, he shoots or attacks, or gets shot at).
- โFranklin never lockpicks SUVs, vans, and other vehicles with a higher door handle, resulting in him always smashing the locked car door windows when entering.
- โOddly, Franklin never lockpicks the Furore GT, even without being provoked.
- โFranklin sleeps for the most normal amount of time out of all the 3 protagonists. When saving the game as Franklin, the game skips ahead 8 hours. Michael sleeps for 6 while Trevor sleeps for 12. Franklin also sleeps in the fetal position, which is the most common sleeping position in the world.
- โFranklin shares many similarities with Carl Johnson, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
- โThey are both young African-American men born and currently residing in Los Santos.
- โThey are both very calm, and are interested in making money and rising to the top of the criminal underworld, often to the dismay of those close to them.
- โBy another coincidence, Franklin and Carl's voice actors are cousins.
- โBoth of them are also affiliated with The Families.
- โThey both never knew their father.
- โFranklin is the only protagonist of GTA V who survives in all three endings. As a result of this, many of his missions (including all of his Strangers and Freaks missions) are required for 100% Completion.
- โFranklin is a fan of the Los Santos Corkers Baseball Team, the Los Santos Kings ice hockey team and the LS Jardineros soccer team.
- โOriginally Franklin was able to play tennis judging by sound effects found in the game files.
- โFranklin's role in The Contract update makes him the first protagonist in the series to have also played the role of a deuteragonist.
- โFranklin's new profession as a celebrity fixer has been compared to the fictional character Ray Donovan; from the crime drama TV series of the same name on Showtime.
- โIf the GTA Online Protagonist stands in front of Franklin in his Agency office long enough, Franklin could be heard commending them for their accomplishments such as robbing the Diamond Casino and successfully running a Nightclub, which he admitted going to prior to meeting them. He could also mention mutual accomplices such as Trevor and Lester, fondly reminiscing their adventures together. This is apparently because Imani had caught Franklin up to speed with the player's criminal history.
- โWhile having not met Pavel before, Franklin mentioned he was approached by him, informing that the player had also hit "an island in the Caribbean".
- โFranklin has learned about golf and considers it a "borin'-ass game", but acknowledges that important deals get made while on the golf course. He, therefore, owns a set of golf clubs but keeps them in his office at the Agency rather than at home.
- โHe thinks of the internet as "a huge and terrible place that I still don't understand", nor can he decipher Imani's texts which are apparently full of internet slang. Despite this, however, he is capable of navigating message boards and is aware of what NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are.
- โFranklin may say to the player while in the Agency that owning a hangar must be "convenient as shit" and that he wishes he owned one. However, in Grand Theft Auto V, he can. This may be an oversight, or purchasing the hangar for Franklin is not canon. He may also mention that he has never owned a nightclub, whereas in Grand Theft Auto V, he, Michael or Trevor may own Pitchers or The Hen House.
Story missions
51 missionsIn story order, numbered as they are on the mission list. Not all of these are missions they hand you; some they only appear in.
2
3
4
5
6
8
9
11
15
16
22
23
28
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
45
46
47
48
50
51
53
55
57
58
59
60
61
63
65
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77Shares missions with
The characters who appear in the most of the same missions.
Character data from GTA Wiki, CC BY-SA. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games.
Last verified September 14, 2026