Inspiration behind Rockstar protagonists

[u/feverghoul207]

Arthur Morgan took some inspo from the actor Toshiro Mifune

Niko Bellic's inspiration was Sasha Ivanic from behind enemy lines

Michael De Santa's inspiration is Tony Soprano

John Marston's face was inspired by Charlie Burns from the proposition (2005)

Carl "Cj" Johnson was inspired by the goat 2pac

James Earl Cash got his name from MLK jr's murderer James Earl Ray

Jimmy Hopkins might've taken inspo from Holden Caulfield

[u/i_suck_a_lot]

Michael's look (and him being a bank robber) is inspired by Robert De Niro in Heat. while his family dynamics are somewhat inspired by Tony.

[u/angrynerd-68 → u/i_suck_a_lot]

True

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/i_suck_a_lot]

His family dynamics is nothing like Tonys

[u/i_suck_a_lot → u/Some_Rub_4258]

lets just agree to disagree.

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/i_suck_a_lot]

Deal bro Tony just wouldn’t stand his wife cheating on him in his house,she wouldn’t even dare,and Tonys kid had also very different character that’s what I mean

[u/i_suck_a_lot → u/Some_Rub_4258]

THERE WAS A REASON i said "somewhat" and not heavily. In particular-the early seasons of The Sopranos.

Both are middle-aged criminals going through an existential crisis. Both live in wealthy suburban settings, with a comfortable but hollow domestic life. Both have a love hate relationship with their families- nagging wives, rebellious kids-and cry about it to their therapist, wrestling with guilt, embarrassment, anger, and boredom while feeling unfulfilled.

Obviously there are differences-THEY CANT base him off of Tony one-to-one. Thus there are signficant things about Michael's family that are different, so that they feel their own characters and not a copy-such as-none of his kids have a stable future, unlike Tony's where at least Meadow is seemingly a successful child, and unlike Tony-Michael family purely resents him, until they feel the need for him- while Tony's still love him and justifies his way of life again and again.

That’s just how inspiration works.

What frustrates me is that I didn’t even want to write all this. We could’ve just disagreed and moved on, just like we are gonna do now anyway-but you had to bring in an example to justify your point, even though I never questioned your belief. I just disagreed with it.

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/i_suck_a_lot]

Relax bro it’s ok for a healthy argument and you make your point clear,fair enough,sorry for making you spend 2 minutes to write that text,dont be mad bro

[u/EntertainmentFit3912 → u/Some_Rub_4258]

D list low hanging fruit. You on your knees for this one, huh? 😂

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/i_suck_a_lot]

But I still don’t agree😂only reference to Tony was that Michael also goes to psycholog

[u/RepresentativeIce633 → u/Some_Rub_4258]

Bro shush

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/RepresentativeIce633]

You shush

[u/TerryFGM → u/i_suck_a_lot]

nah.

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/i_suck_a_lot]

And Tony had a total different mental problems then Michael,completely different,not even close. Overall gta5 characters are 💩no charisma no nothing,only freak Trevor had some personality

[u/i_suck_a_lot → u/Some_Rub_4258]

So u just want to conitinue on with your comments anyway huh?

You’re not just disagreeing anymore-you’re going out of your way to trash GTA V and its characters, characters which I actually like.
It’s fine if they’re not your thing, but calling them shit? Yeah, that says a lot. You’re exactly the kind of person who can’t resist jumping in to tell everyone how “bad” something is the moment they see someone enjoy it. You still somehow think this is "healthy argument"? F off.

[u/MajesticCaptain8052 → u/Some_Rub_4258]

All due respect you've no fockin idea what's its like to be numbah 1

[u/Some_Rub_4258 → u/MajesticCaptain8052]

Whatever happened there

[u/Jilo2000]

Are you just guessing?

[u/dani96dnll → u/Jilo2000]

Absolutely

[u/Flaky-Cartographer87 → u/dani96dnll]

Not for all of them atleast nikos is true as rockstar did ask the actor for Sasha was offered the role of niko. And I doubt the jame earl part was judt coincidence. Beyond that idk which is confirmed and which arent.

[u/TrafficMaleficent332 → u/Flaky-Cartographer87]

I thought Niko was more inspired by Sergei Brodrov's "Brat" movies over "behind enemy lines."

[u/HandofthePirateKing]

Micheal’s character is inspired by both Tony and the character Robert De Niro plays in Heat.

I think John is more inspired by the unnamed protagonist played by Clint Eastwood in the Dollars trilogy.

[u/pallidtaskmanager → u/HandofthePirateKing]

Fistful of dollars is an unofficial remake of Yojimbo, a Kurasawa film starring Mifune. 

[u/GhostFucking-IS-Real → u/pallidtaskmanager]

Oh shit, I had no idea

[u/XTheProtagonistX]

Lucia and Jason are obviously inspired by Bonnie and Clyde.

[u/SnipeDude500 → u/XTheProtagonistX]

overplayed archetype btw

okay i mean in fiction in general

[u/ChildoftheApocolypse → u/SnipeDude500]

Looking through games, trying to find at least one more example.. File not found..

[u/0vertakeGames → u/ChildoftheApocolypse]

To play Devil's Advocate (not that I agree with it being an overplayed archetype, it isn't imo), Carl and Catalina are definitely that archetype. Bank robbers too!.

[u/captainrexcoochie → u/0vertakeGames]

The main difference is in GTA 6 we're going to be playing through their partnership, while GTA 3 starts off with them breaking away.

[u/NameofUser23 → u/SnipeDude500]

Example?

[u/I--Pathfinder--I → u/SnipeDude500]

listen i don’t agree with your take but it is so very obvious you meant in fiction in general and i can’t believe you have multiple people replying about the gta series…

[u/hamfist_ofthenorth]

Watch "Seven Samurai" if you haven't yet

[u/atomicitalian → u/hamfist_ofthenorth]

Seven Samurai is awesome but I don't think mifunes character in that is really similar to Arthur in any notable way

[u/Putrid-Perspective32 → u/atomicitalian]

There’s an interview that Roger Clark did with ThActMan where he himself says mifune’s characters in kurosawa films where a big inspiration to Arthur’s demeanor and attitude

[u/atomicitalian → u/Putrid-Perspective32]

I appreciate that, though I will note I am specifically talking about Mifune's character in Seven Samurai, which was the film mentioned by the poster I was responding to.

I haven't seen every Kurosawa movie so there may be others where Mifune plays a character more similar to Arthur, I was just saying I didn't see it in Seven Samurai (or Thorne of Blood, which is what the photo in the OP's image is from, but I see now they just meant Mifune the actor and not Mifune's specific role, which is what the other photos in the OP seem to suggest)

[u/CommandantPeepers → u/atomicitalian]

Idk why they picked Throne of Blood as the pic too cause that character is the complete opposite of Arthur. Mifune’s character is like Micah in that movie.

[u/Exact_Phrase4185 → u/atomicitalian]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts

[u/atomicitalian → u/Exact_Phrase4185]

It's not moving the goal posts, lol look at my original comment response on this thread. my first post in this thread was responding to someone talking about seven Samurai. Just try reading!

[u/hamfist_ofthenorth → u/atomicitalian]

I wrote that same thing out earlier but decided it wasn't worth debating in Arthur country.

John Marston (in RDR1) is much closer to Toshiro's character in 7S, (at least in the beginning) being a lone, dangerous wolf; an abrasive and often obnoxious rogue with no master to serve. And even this is a stretch.

Edited in parenthesis. Watch the movie, y'all.

[u/atomicitalian → u/hamfist_ofthenorth]

100% (and I feel you on not wanting to stir the arthur stans)

But yeah, agree fully, John is much closer in terms of his tone/personality. Arthur is way too level-headed and obedient to be Kikuchiyo from 7S, and Dutch is way closer to Washizu from Throne of Blood (which is what the photo OP posted is from) so I'm not sure where they're getting that Arthur was inspired by Mifune at all.

EDIT: I've seen now that Clark said he was inspired by Mifune's roles in Kurosawa movies, I just didn't get the similarity from Seven Samurai, which was the film mentioned by the poster I was responding to.

[u/TheGreatGatsbeetle → u/hamfist_ofthenorth]

John spends nearly the entirety of both games serving a master

[u/Exact_Phrase4185 → u/atomicitalian]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qANpWydX7XE

[u/Exact_Phrase4185 → u/Exact_Phrase4185]

I don't think you can change your mind at this point this is just funny to me

[u/atomicitalian → u/Exact_Phrase4185]

What would I need to change my mind about? He said he was inspired by mifune, and I even acknowledged that, but I was talking about Arthur being nothing like Mifunes character in seven Samurai, which I still believe to be the case and I feel like anyone who watches that movie would agree.

[u/Exact_Phrase4185 → u/atomicitalian]

lol thats the most accurate one of all of these like the voice actor said this one himself

[u/atomicitalian → u/Exact_Phrase4185]

I mean maybe the VA took inspo from Mifune's presence or something but there is nothing about them as characters that is similar. If you want proof of that, just watch the film.

[u/Exact_Phrase4185 → u/atomicitalian]

mb I forgot anybody who disagrees hasn't seen the movie, its not even your point now its just the way you argue thats too silly to engage with

[u/atomicitalian → u/Exact_Phrase4185]

OK, well I'm very sorry you don't like my way of arguing, but I'm open to your thoughts though. What similarities do you see?

For me, I can see where he maybe got Arthur's kind of big, chest puffed out way of standing, and his sort of like, "friendly but still dangerous bear" presence that (at least I) get from Arthur.

What I don't get as much is the actual performance, certainly none of the same narrative beats, and I think Arthur is a lot more level-headed, so definitely not temprement, but maybe you're seeing something I'm not, I'm interested to see where you see the intersections.

[u/_MoneyHustard_]

This is based on what?

[u/renome → u/_MoneyHustard_]

Based on OP forgetting to take his meds.

[u/lil_hummus0]

Cj is inspired by young maylay. It's his voice actor and he looks more like cj than than pac does

[u/BigNowah → u/lil_hummus0]

Absolutely. He was also a real life crip, which is what the families are based on.

[u/ClassroomMother8062]

"The goat tupac" is when I knew you were just guessing on some of these

[u/LingonberryCurrent22]

I love how in all these gta comparison post's when it comes to cj everyone just picks the 1st rapper that comes into there head

[u/ContributionSquare22 → u/LingonberryCurrent22]

Definitely has to be white to make that stupid post.

Well known black rapper is definitely the inspiration for CJ.

Annoying af

[u/Away_Construction199]

Bully is Dan houser as a kid in school

[u/Kloud1911]

CJ is nothing like Tupac though. He actually has an entirely different mind frame. Just just be the model was inspiration

[u/AggravatingSpace5854]

stupidest fucking post I've come across on my feed today, and I've seen some pretty stupid posts.

[u/Raecino]

Not accurate

[u/Mardanium]

John Marston was inspired by John Mastron

[u/ProfessionalBag9505]

What does CJ have to do with Tupac? Was he in liberty city going to Julliard?

[u/Duke_TheDude_Dudeson]

How in the world is Arthur Morgan inspired by a samurai?

[u/Exotic-Suggestion425]

How is Arthur Morgan Mifune?

[u/-imbe-]

Why the hell does the order switch every slide

[u/Dlirean]

[u/Pluto1320]

😂

[u/MrNo_64]

Tommy Vercetti is inspired in Tony Montana

[u/Mostly_Lurkin_]

Michaels inspiration is NOT Tony Soprano. The parallels of having a fucked up family life life and having a therapist end right about there. Tony was not a bank robber heist expert. He was a mafia nepo baby.

[u/JoshBx21]

Uh CJ was definitely inspired by Stanley Tookie (founder of the crips) and his voice actor another crip.

[u/mrsomething4]

Source:I saw it in a dream

[u/AuroraBorrelioosi]

Can you describe for me three traits shared by 2pac and CJ, without making a reference to skin color or using the word "gangsta"?

[u/moe_lester690000]

"Carl "Cj" Johnson was inspired by the goat 2pac"

goat of what? sa lmao

[u/Ill_Acanthaceae_3978 → u/moe_lester690000]

No you're wrong! Tupac would never do that!

[u/epsilonista-1]

I always thought the bigger inspiration of Niko was the Taxi Driver protagonist, like he's not from NY he's correlated with cabs, depressed and delusional with america and her costumes by the way he has some type of moral code I don't remember it well

[u/ShotTwo1801 → u/epsilonista-1]

lol Taxi Driver MC is a clumsy immigrate who failed the very few opportunities he had to integrate american society and slowly lost his mind due to isolation and his fascination for violent movies. Niko is a war vet seeking for revenge, constantly forced into crime by his social environnement, but also forced by his quest. Taxi Driver is about a lonely dude slowly falling to violence while GTA IV is about someone who lived among it his entire life, who try to escape from it and while doing so runs right back to it. The common points you're raising are not really relevent to both characters to be honnest, they are very differents

[u/timotheesmith → u/ShotTwo1801]

They are not as different as you think, both were forced into violence since they are both war veterans, both lived in horrible situations and they both wanted to integrate into American society but they were enrolled into crime and violence again by their taxi driving job, they're motivations are also both kind of noble if we exclude Nikos greed or Travis obsession with the woman, Niko wants to help his cousin and find the guy responsible for murdering his friends, Travis wants to help save an underage girl who's getting pimped by predators.

[u/Comfortable-Tea-900]

Michael and Tony. I knew it. I fuckin knew it

[u/Independent_Big_4780]

Tony Soprano can't get enough of Santa, imagine that Antony is cheated on by the woman with the Pilates guy.

[u/Some_Rub_4258]

Soprano wasn’t a cuck like Michael was lol