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Red Dead Redemption 2

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Strange Man, Voiced by Brennan Brown
Character

Strange Man

Voiced by Brennan Brown

Strange Man is one of the named cast of Red Dead Redemption 2, working as character. The facts below are the ones the wiki records.

Turns up in the story without fitting any of the other labels.

Role
Other characters
Voice actor
Brennan Brown
Status
Not stated
Occupation
Accountant
Affiliations
John Marston, Herbert Moon, Jimmy Brooks (possibly), Skinner Brothers (possibly )
Also known as
Mysterious Stranger

Player notes

The Strange Man first enters Red Dead Redemption 2 indirectly, through an abandoned shack at Bayall Edge in Bayou Nwa, Lemoyne. Its walls carry cryptic messages connected to Armadillo, Herbert Moon and the cholera afflicting New Austin. Arthur Morgan finds an unfinished portrait there. After the story shifts to John Marston in the epilogue, John returns to the shack and sees the portrait slowly take shape over several days. He records in his journal that the image feels fascinating, awful and seductive.

When the painting is finished, John sees the black-suited, top-hatted man in the shack's mirror behind him. John turns, but finds nobody there. In Armadillo, he spots a smaller version of the same portrait in Herbert Moon's General Store and says the face seems familiar. Moon says the picture was given to him and that he keeps it because he likes it. A man outside town also speaks of a tall man in black whom he believes has cursed Armadillo with cholera.

Four years later in Red Dead Redemption, John meets the Strange Man three times across the frontier. The stranger knows details of John's time with the Van der Linde gang and calls himself, in a way, an accountant. He sends John to confront a married man planning to betray his wife, then to deal with a nun collecting charity money, without dictating John's choices. Their final meeting is above Beecher's Hope. John fires at the man, but the bullets have no effect as the Strange Man walks away.

Trivia

  • โ—†The Strange Man has a similar appearance to Josiah Trelawny.
  • โ—†The Strange Man is referenced by the Fortune Speaker machine "Nazar Speaks" in the Grand Theft Auto Online add-on The Diamond Casino Heist. When reading the player's fortune, Nazar can say, "I see a strange man in a tall hat... he frightens me".
  • โ—†During the third encounter with the Strange Man, he says, "This is a fine spot". This location later serves as John, Uncle, and Abigail's gravesites.
  • โ—†Near the end of the encounter, John fires three bullets at him, but before he can fire a fourth, he stops to inspect his gun. The three bullets could represent how John and Uncle die in "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed", and Abigail's death coming later. Players interpret that the gun jammed due to the clicking sound, but that sound is caused by John clicking the hammer, as you can hear the sound even after the first 3 bullets.
  • โ—†During the second encounter, John sarcastically says, "I'll let the appropriate authorities judge my morality, friend," to which the Strange Man replies, "Yes, you will and they shall". This is a foreshadowing of the ending of the game in which John dies to Ross and his squad, being the "appropriate authorities" judging John.
  • โ—†It is possible to kill the Strange Man; the player has to shoot him before triggering the cutscene, but doing so will fail the mission. Once the mission is complete, the player will no longer be able to do this.
  • โ—†The Strange Man can be "killed" right after the second encounter. He will appear to have died and the body can be looted. Doing so does not affect the "I Know You" side-missions in any way.
  • โ—†If the player points a gun at him, he can pull out a Cattleman Revolver and shoot and kill the player. He may also run away while yelling at John.
  • โ—†After the first encounter with him, players can point a gun at him, and he will start to run. If he is hogtied, he will keep talking as if the situation were normal. However, pointing a gun at him is considered a crime and civilians will attempt to alert law enforcement.
  • โ—†The Strange Man is the only character John meets within all three territories of the map.
  • โ—†If the player attacks the Strange Man, he proceeds to say things like, "You always were a nasty little orphan", "Come now, Marston", or "You haven't changed".
  • โ—†In the epilogue, John can visit the General Store in Armadillo, where he will notice a portrait of the Strange Man owned by the shopkeeper. John will say that he looks familiar, despite not seeing him until the events of Red Dead Redemption which occur four years later.
  • โ—†The only other occasions John may indirectly know of the Strange Man in Redemption 2 is through the mirror and painting at his cabin and through dialogue from a man camped outside Armadillo after the epilogue.
  • โ—†If the player takes a screenshot of the Strange Man's cabin and uploads it to the Rockstar Social Club, it will list the photo's location as "Serial Killer". This is because the shack originally belonged to a serial killer in the beta.
  • โ—†At some point before the Blackwater massacre, Arthur wrote in his journal that he has "heard talk" of a man sounded like Trelawny, despite the gang not seeing him for months. Since Trelawny is very similar to the Strange Man, it is possible that Arthur witnessed him in Blackwater.
  • โ—†It's heavily implied that Herbert Moon is associated with the Strange Man. In the cabin, there is a map of Armadillo with a handwritten note which reads, "I offered you happiness or two generations. You made your choice". This could be in reference to the Cholera outbreak and imply that it was caused by a deal with the Strange Man, which is further lent credence by a letter that can be looted from Moon himself. It details the marriage of Herbert's daughter and that she is pregnant, which is presumably what "two generations" is referencing. In the cabin, one can also find writing on the wall saying, "The Moon Will Shine On In The Darkness". Incidentally, Herbert Moon is one of the only residents of Armadillo not infected or harmed by the Cholera outbreak.
  • โ—†The Strange Man may also be associated with the Skinner Brothers, who worship a "Prince of Darkness" they describe as a "gentleman."
  • โ—†Internally, the Strange Man's model is called " cs_mysteriousstranger ". This might suggest that the Strange Man was heavily inspired by Satan from Mark Twain's novel, The Mysterious Stranger, as both seem to be enigmatic, supernatural entities, while also frequently questioning humanity's hypocrisy and moral paradoxes. In Redemption, his model is referred to as "mysteryman" internally but his voicelines are called " mysterious_stranger01 ".
  • โ—†Paintings in the Strange Man's shack change depending on the player's honor level. High honor will display paintings of eagles and bucks. With low honor, the paintings will show vultures and coyotes. A poem about the fate of Jimmy Brooks also changes depending on if Arthur spared him or murdered him.
  • โ—†The Strange Man's cabin is located in Bayou Nwa, Lemoyne, a state that combines several Southern States of America in its geography, including Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. The cabin being located in the south could be a reference to the Charlie Daniels Band song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which is about the Devil's deal making history down south. Additionally, the Devil in the song went there looking for souls, similar to the stranger's role in the franchise.
View on Red Dead Wiki โ†’

Character data from Red Dead Wiki, CC BY-SA. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games.

Last verified September 14, 2026