10 Most Compelling Backstories Of GTA Characters

By Jamie Kennedy /

10. Ken Rosenberg (GTA: Vice City/GTA: San Andreas)

Introduced in GTA: Vice City as a stumbling, bumbling, cocaine-addicted lawyer who has less backbone than the average jellyfish, Ken Rosenberg perfectly encapsulated the hedonism of the era the game was set, where even nerdy little poindexters with no morals can believe themselves to be Gods. Even though he's a pip-squeak, Rosenberg has an endearing quality to him, and is the perfect foil for Tommy Vercetti, the game's protagonist. At first, it seems like it's only a matter of time before the ultra-paranoid attorney is either locked behind bars, wiped out by gang members or killed by his own addiction to recreational drug use. Stunningly, he stays alive, and players even encounter him years later in GTA: San Andreas, albeit with quite a lot less hair. Weasel-like, overblown characters are what Grand Theft Auto is all about, and Ken Rosenberg really fits that mould. An egomaniac with nothing to particularly shout about, Rosenberg is excellently-voiced by William Fichtner and it's a sign of how strong Rockstar are at creating secondary characters that he could even have a spin-off dedicated to what he did between 1986 and 1992.