| NOTE: For the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 2, see here. |
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| “ | Oh! Here's the guy I was telling you about! Alright, listen. This guy ain’t Italian and he’s no mechanic but he can get things fixed. | „ |
| ~ Joey Leone introducing Claude to Toni Cipriani |
Claude is the main protagonist of the 2001 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto III and a minor antagonist in the 2004 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Very little is specifically known about Claude's past and his personality, as Claude himself doesn't speak at all in any of the games and never reveals any details about himself.
Despite being mute and never speaking in any of his appearances, Hunter Platin provides the grunts and pain sounds of the character. Platin also voices Phil Cassidy, Curly Bob and Chico in the same game, as well as the Psycho in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Piggsy in Manhunt.
Appearance[]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Claude was younger. He had brown hair and brown eyes and wore a dark gray vest and green trousers.
Grand Theft Auto III[]
He wore a vest which was in plain black.
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
If the player kills Playboy X, they can find Claude's clothes in his safe house for Niko Bellic to wear. This had previously led to some fans to speculate Claude's fate by the events of the game or if he is still alive. However, Rockstar has stated that the GTA HD universe is entirely separated from the 3D universe and unrelated to it.
Biography[]
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
In 1992, Claude was the owner of a run-down garage in Doherty, San Fierro, and a competitor in various illegal races. At some point, he encountered a small-time robber named Catalina and started a relationship with her after her "break-up" with Carl Johnson. Sometime after meeting Catalina, Claude entered a race through the forests of Red and Flint County where he lost to Catalina's ex-boyfriend CJ. After the loss, Catalina and Claude left San Andreas and embarked on a cross-country crime spree.
In the years in-between Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto III, Claude and Catalina became affiliated with a Colombian drug cartel and did some errands for them.
Grand Theft Auto III[]
In 2001, Claude and Catalina arrived in Liberty City and took part in a bank robbery on the outskirts of Liberty City. While rushing through an alley, Catalina unexpectedly shot their unnamed accomplice, as well as Claude, leaving him for dead. Claude ended up in police custody but broke free when gang members assaulted the police van, he was transported in. He encountered an injured fellow convict named 8-Ball who recommended him to Salvatore Leone, Liberty City's most prominent mob boss.
Claude did some odd jobs for Leone until his wife, Maria Latore developed a fixation on him. Angered by the perceived affair, Leone organized an ambush on Claude who escaped to Staunton Island with Maria and her friend, Yakuza leader Asuka Kasen. During his time on Staunton Island Claude also started doing errands for a cannibalistic businessman named Donald Love. To get closer to Catalina, Claude and Love orchestrated the death of Asuka's brother Kenji and pushed the blame onto Catalina's drug cartel.
The war between the Yakuza and the cartel intensifies until Claude's actions attract the attention of Catalina, who has Asuka and Miquel murdered and abducts Maria. Claude finally confronts Catalina and kills her during a shootout. It is unknown if he killed Maria Latore while the credits roll, as a gunshot is heard and her speech cuts off.
Personality[]
Not much can be said about Claude's true personality, as he never speaks. Curiously, very few characters acknowledge the fact Claude never speaks; Maria Latore brings it up during a radio interview, stating he doesn't talk much, and Carl Johnson refers to him as a "mute asshole" and a "snake without a tongue."
He appears almost emotionless regardless of the situation, aside from a slight smirk and usually a glare, seemingly taking everything in stride. The only moments he displays genuine emotions are when Kenji shouts at him (thus adding a bit of comic relief in an otherwise serious story), when Maria tells him why Salvatore wants to kill him because she told him they had an affair together (Claude's showing his hand gesture and was like "Why would you do that?"), and when he is visibly surprised by Catalina's betrayal during the introduction.
Provided he is paid for his services, he will take orders from his bosses without reluctance or complaint, usually giving a nod to show that he understands, and doesn't respond even when he is scolded or shouted at by his bosses for doing something wrong. He also prostrates to his bosses if required, in Kenji's case.
Ironically, Catalina states that she betrayed Claude for his lack of ambition, and yet throughout the game, Claude works, kills and rises through the ranks of the Liberty City underworld, all just to get his revenge. Because Claude never verbalizes it, it's unclear if he has any true loyalty or respect to anyone. As long as he is paid and it will get him closer to getting revenge, he will work for, and kill, anyone, as evidenced by him killing Kenji . He even fights on multiple sides of gang wars, working for the Leones, the Diablos, the Yakuza, and the Yardies, completely without hesitation and goes as far as to orchestrate a gang war between the Yakuza and the Colombian Cartel along with Donald Love.
It should be noted that when Claude does kill one of his former bosses, it's those who mistreat or betray him, like Kenji or Salvatore Leone, implying that Claude doesn't take slights against him lightly, explaining why he is more than willing to kill them. His vindictive side is further evidenced when he coldly leaves Miguel to be tortured by Asuka Kasen, for his part in Catalina's betrayal. He does appear to at least have an amicable relationship with Asuka and Maria, since Asuka is willing to help Claude in his goal for revenge when she learns about Claude's history with Catalina.
For the vast majority of the game, Claude is taciturn and never speaks. He will only make a slight grunt when he is hurt, or an "Oh!" whenever he drowns, gets shot, run over, or when he falls down. He may also give passing vehicles the middle finger when crossing the road. There are moments where despite not talking, Claude will let his actions or behaviour speak for him, such as appearing taken aback and flinching slightly when Kenji yells at his face, or visibly reacting in surprise when Maria tells him that she told Salvatore that they slept together, the aforementioned leaving Miguel to his fate, and seemingly attempting to intimidate CJ when the latter has an argument with Catalina over a racing prize.
Throughout GTA III, Claude remains true to his mission of finding and taking revenge on Catalina for leaving him for dead, even showing the slightest bit of pity for Maria when he allows her to live after freeing her and that saving her was at least part of his priorities, only to possibly kill her himself. It's also clear that Claude is primarily out for himself and will work for people for his own ends or benefits until he no longer sees a reason to work for them anymore.
Worth noting is that Claude may possess a simple, almost childish sense of humor. In all of the missions given by Kenji, Claude engages in the preemptive bow with great enthusiasm, so much so that, during the final mission, he does it without even realising Kenji is yelling at him. Likewise, in San Andreas, he's shown some degree of enjoyment in making CJ feel uncomfortable in his presence.
Powers/Abilities[]
- Intelligence: Despite being silent, he is one of the smartest Protagonists in the GTA Franchise he easily finds any ways such as running the police or any violent gangsters or crime lords.
- Driving skills: Claude is quite very great at driving skills in San Andreas, when he was racing to fight CJ in the illegal race.
- Gunmanship and Marksmanship: Claude is very good at using guns he using them to kill all people such as M16, AK-47, M1911 and Maverick 88 Shotforce.
- Enchanted strength and Martial Arts: Claude is one of the strongest and deadliest protagonists in the GTA Franchise he always fighting people or criminals who betrayed him.
Villainous Acts[]
Free-roam[]
All of these crimes are non-canonic and only up to the player choice:
- Bludgeoning and abusing people.
- Gunning down people.
- Car-jacking people, stealing parked cars and cars in luxury galleries.
- Driving recklessly, crushing people.
Also, the player can do rampages, during which the player has to kill people or destroy a certain number of vehicles within a limited time.
Victims[]
Confirmed[]
- Mike "Lips" Forelli
- "Chunky" Lee Chong
- Curly Bob
- Salvatore Leone
- Leon McAffrey
- Tanner
- Kenji Kasen
- Catalina
Optional Murders[]
- Carlos
- Chico
- D-Ice's Unnamed Brother
Unconfirmed Murders[]
- Maria Latore (possibly killed off-screen for annoying him)
Overall[]
- Total - 11 (Possibly 12)
Storyline[]
San Andreas[]
- He engages in an illegal street race with CJ in "Farewell, My Love..."
GTA III[]
- In the introduction, he robbed a bank with Catalina and Miguel, although they betrayed him, and left him for dead.
- In the mission "Give Me Liberty," he escaped the police convoy and the arrest.
- In the mission "Don't Spank Ma Bitch Up," he killed a dealer, then took his car to lockup.
- In the mission Mike Lips' Last Lunch, he murdered Mike Forelli.
- In the mission Farewell 'Chunky' Lee Chong, he murdered Chunky Lee Chong
- In the mission Van Heist, he stole a van for Joey.
- In the mission The Getaway, he helped three robbers robbing a bank by acting as a getaway driver and helping robbers escape the police.
- In the mission "Taking Out the Laundry," he destroyed three Laundry vans.
- In the mission of Cutting the Grass, he followed and killed Curly Bob.
- In the mission Under Surveillance, he killed the spies around Staunton Island.
- In the mission Paparazzi Purge, he murdered a reporter by killing him with his police boat.
- In the mission Two-Faced Tanner, he murdered Tanner.
- In the mission Silence the Sneak, he attempted to murder Leon McCaffery, however, he failed.
- In the mission "Evidence Dash," he rammed the vehicle with the eviudence against Donald Love, to throw them out, then left them in a car and blew it up.
- In the mission Plaster Blaster, he chased Leon McAffrey again; this time he succeeded.
- In the mission Waka-Gashira Wipeout!, he murdered Kenji to start a war between Yakuzas and Cartel by being disguised as a Cartel.
- In the mission S.A.M., he blew up a plane, then recovered the drop and delivered it to Asuka.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Grand Theft Auto Online, players who had pre-ordered a special edition of Grand Theft Auto V can select Claude as a parent option for their character.
- Claude is often mistaken as Claude Speed from Grand Theft Auto 2 (and vice versa).
- However, there is a possibility Claude and Claude Speed are the same. Rockstar has stated that's it very likely they are the same.
- Rockstar has stated that Claude was never given a voice actor (as seen in this video).
- Even though Claude never speaks, he grunts in Grand Theft Auto III.
- A possible explanation for Claude's muteness in-universe could be that during Catalina's betrayal in the beginning of Grand Theft Auto III, he was shot in the throat, damaging his vocal cords instead of shooting his head which Catalina was most likely aiming at. His reasons for not speaking in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas could be never actually getting the chance to do so, since Catalina did all the talking for him, even during Catalina's phone call to CJ where she taunted him by having sex with Claude on the phone.
- Claude's name was not revealed until Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by Catalina, three years after the release of Grand Theft Auto III. Up until then, he was only known by his many nicknames given by other characters.
- Claude is considered to be the most recurring character in the Grand Theft Auto series, because of his appearance in both Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and a cameo character in Grand Theft Auto Online.
- He is the first silent protagonist in the GTA Franchise.
- Claude, Tommy Vercetti and Toni Cipriani are the only protagonists who can't swim.
- Altough Claude is a psychopath, he can still admire and respect someone. And the people that Claude respect are Toni Cipriani, Salvatore Leone, Kenji Kasen, and Donald Love.
External Links[]
- Claude on the Grand Theft Auto Wiki
- Claude on the Heroes Wiki
