GTA Actors Recreate Franklin Roast In Real Life
It's been seven years since Grand Theft Auto V revved its way into our lives and inadvertently became the most profitable entertainment product of all time. Even today, there's still a massive fanbase that regularly pops into Los Santos for a bit of madness and mayhem thanks to the ongoing success of Grand Theft Auto Online.
For those who haven't played GTA V (seriously, where have you been?), 2021 could be a good place to start thanks to a next-gen remaster for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. As GTA V continues to permeate pop culture, two of the game's biggest names have recreated one iconic scene. Why? Well, just for the fun of it.
Part of GTA V's charm was the colourful cast of characters as the story followed retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street-wise gangster Franklin Clinton, and a drug-dealing arms smuggler called Trevor Philips. The voice cast was made up of Ned Luke, Shawn Fonteno, and Steven Ogg in their respective roles as Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, with GTA V undoubtedly being a highlight of their CVs. With this in mind, it's no surprise some of them just can't leave Los Santos behind them
Why did someone recreate the GTA Franklin roast?
In the midst of a global pandemic, there isn't much to do these days. When you've played through every GTA game for the millionth time and polished off GTA Online's Cayo Perico heist, what do you do next? When it comes Shawn Fonteno and co-star Gerald "Slink" Jonhson, recreating their iconic exchange has helped pass the time. The scene in question saw Johnson's Lamar roast Franklin on his haircut in an NSWF exchange.
Although the guys are a little older and don't quite look like their video game counterparts, those who've played GTA V will know exactly what's going on. PlayStation Haven is behind the clip, which even goes as far as featuring Lamar's green shirt and Franklin's blue top to capture their look in-game. It's almost perfect as Fonteno touches his head after Johnson's comment about his “yee yee ass haircut”.
The pair also capture the mannerisms that made the scene such a standout back in 2013. The icing on the cake is Fonteno's bemused "what" as he's well and truly roasted. Of course, the trend of recreating the GTA Franklin roast scene is nothing new. We've even seen another Rockstar Games legend get in on the action as Red Dead Redemption 2's Arthur Morgan roasted Franklin.
How did the GTA Franklin roast go viral?
2021 has got off to a weird start as the Franklin and Lamar scene has started going viral. We're not sure why the trend kicked off, but according to Know Your Meme, there was a resurgence in popularity following Hit Productions posting a video called "harry potter roasts franklin calmly" on December 6. Hit Productions posted several parodies last month, while other content creators started getting in on the trend. Our personal favourite is "Darth Vader Roasts Franklin". GTA V's modding capabilities mean Lamar has been swapped out for anyone and everyone, including Snow White, Kermit the Frog, and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Just like when Jack Black accident recreated the "Distracted Boyfriend" meme, there's a growing trend of people bringing the most internet-worthy memes to life. We're no stranger to seeing people trying out Big Smoke's burger order from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In 2017, YouTuber and food fanatic Matt Stonie replicated Big Smoke's goliath order from the fictional Cluckin' Bell restaurant from the "Drive-Thu" mission.
Clocking in at a whopping 9,500 calories, we watched Stonie chomp through the real-world equivalent of "two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda". Given that Clickin' Bell isn't real, Stone had to improvise with the help of some certain Golden Arches.
Will the GTA roast in real-life spark a new trend of live-action recreations? Will we see Steven Ogg recreate GTA V's bullet-riddled opening? Sadly, our hopes of a live-action GTA movie are confined to voice actors being bored during lockdown. Well, for now, anyway.
Stay up to date with all the latest esports and gaming news by checking out our social channels here: Twitter | Facebook | Discord
Images via Rockstar Games | PlayStation Haven
