Franklin Clinton

Franklin Clinton is one of the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto V, along with Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips. He is voiced by Shawn Fonteno, who is the cousin of Young Maylay, the voice actor of Carl Johnson, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Franklin was born and lived his entire life in Los Santos. He became a gangbanger at a young age and joined The Families alongside his best friend Lamar Davis, committing various small crimes for a living. Franklin's story revolves his desire to become something more and make something of himself, which he succeeds when he meets Michael, who becomes a mentor figure to him and recruits him in all of his robberies and various jobs for other criminals, leading to Franklin's eventual success and wealth. Franklin also befriends the third protagonist, Trevor, who, although not as close to him as Michael, still becomes somewhat of a mentor for him.

Franklin was born in South Los Santos, San Andreas in 1988. He never knew his father and his mother became a cocaine addict when Franklin was very young. As a child, Franklin often heard stories about how his father was violent and physically abusive towards his mother, possibly causing her to turn to cocaine to escape being abused. Franklin's father left his mother while she was still pregnant with Franklin. His mother's addiction eventually led to her death when Franklin was a little boy.

Following his mother's death, he moved in with his maternal grandparents. This is where Franklin met Tonya Wiggins and JB Bradshaw. Despite being constantly spoiled by his grandmother, Franklin had decided to take on the role of a street hustler. One of his first jobs was selling cigarettes with Bradshaw. The scheme was successful until Franklin's grandfather caught them in the act. In Tonya's words, his grandfather "gave chase to both him and Bradshaw all around South Los Santos". After the death of his grandparents, Franklin and his aunt Denise moved into a house on Forum Drive left to them by Franklin's grandmother in her will.

Franklin attended Davis High School along with Lamar Davis, Tanisha Jackson and Tonya, but was expelled for assaulting a teacher for an unknown reason. Around this time, he began the life of a gangbanger and dope dealer and started committing various petty crimes such as carjackings and small-time bank Contentsrobberies with Lamar. During their first bank robbery, they stole $2,000 but did not get to keep the money stolen, because a dye pack spilled onto the money, making it worthless. Franklin also worked for a local drug dealer named Marcus, whom he later killed. Franklin's life of petty crime caught up with him in 2008, when he was arrested and sent to prison. After his release, he decided to give up his previous gang life and get some legitimate work.

A few months before the start of his story, Franklin moved beyond the role of ghetto-based street dealer when he and Lamar began working for Armenian businessman Simeon Yetarian. Yetarian owns a car dealership which acts as a front for a loansharking and extortion business. Yetarian's dealership sells cars to people who can't afford them and when they default on the exorbitant interest payments, Franklin and Lamar repossess the cars. Around the same time, he receives a message from Tanisha that she is breaking up with him due to her brother's death and fearing that Franklin's criminal lifestyle will bring her to harm.Franklin is first seen on a repossession job with Lamar, soon after a chance encounter with his future crime partner, Michael De Santa, who unknowingly directs them to their assigned repossession. Later, Franklin and Lamar are assigned by Simeon to repossess a Bagger in a Vagos-controlled area of Vespucci. While searching for the bike, the two are confronted by the Vagos and a shootout begins when Lamar pulls a gun on them. The duo is then forced to fight their way out of the neighborhood. They find the bike, but the owner was killed during the shootout. Knowing the repossession is meaningless, Lamar takes the bike for himself, and Simeon blames Franklin for the bike's theft. While recovering a BeeJay XL sold to Jimmy De Santa, his father Michael (who had been hiding in the back seat) holds a pistol to Franklin's head. Under orders from Michael, Franklin drives the car through the window of Simeon's dealership, receiving a payment from Michael himself for doing what he called "a job well done". Because Franklin had driven through the dealership and Lamar didn't return the bike, Simeon fires the pair.

Franklin is brought along by Lamar to kidnap a Balla gang member named D, for no other reason than that Lamar saw "opportunity". He and Lamar meet up and travel in Lamar's van to Vinewood Boulevard and encounter D down an alley, but he makes an escape on a motorbike with the two in hot pursuit. With the help of Lamar's dog Chop, the two succeed in capturing D; however, they are forced to free him when Lamar inadvertently reveals their location to the police while talking on his mobile phone. Things took a turn for the worse when Stretch returns from his prison sentence and goes to a drug deal at Rogers Salvage and Scrap which was actually an ambush. Stretch kills D and the trio escape with Franklin angry at Stretch for coming back.

After losing his job at the dealership, Franklin approached Michael started working with him. Franklin helps Michael rescue Jimmy from his yacht, which was stolen with Jimmy on it during an attempted sale. Later, after Michael catches his wife Amanda post-coitus with her tennis coach, Michael and Franklin chase him to a house in the Vinewood Hills. Believing the house to belong to the tennis coach, Michael and Franklin use a pickup truck to pull the deck down, destroying the house. After returning to the De Santa Residence, drug lord Martin Madrazo appears and Franklin reveals the latter's past to Michael. Martin then reveals that it was his girlfriend's house and attacks Michael with a baseball bat, demands Michael to pay for the repairs to the house, which will cost $2,500,000.

After some time has passed, Michael contacts Franklin to enlist him for the Vangelico Jewelry Store Heist, which Franklin accepts as he sees this as his first major opportunity to prove himself. The heist is successful and Madrazo receives his money, with Michael and Franklin splitting the rest between themselves.

Michael, under orders of Dave Norton, infiltrates a morgue and kills several guards. In a panic, Michael calls Franklin and reveals that he is affiliated with the FIB, though Franklin continues to trust Michael due to the latter offering him help while he was in a tough financial position. Franklin also decides to work with Michael, in hopes that there will be better payment from jobs with him.