In 2013, gamers everywhere were introduced to a trio of criminal protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 5. All three characters were memorable for different reasons, with Steven Ogg's Trevor Phillips being the big standout. However, Trevor's hesitant best friend, Michael, is not without his own charms in Grand Theft Auto 5.
In Grand Theft Auto 5, Michael De Santa/Michael Townley is the first character the player takes control of. A former professional thief, Michael went into an off-the-books witness protection program in order to get a better life for himself and his family. He is forced back into the lifestyle after destroying a drug kingpin's house thinking it belonged to a man who was sleeping with his wife. This eventually leads to a chain of events where he and the other protagonists are forced to plan and execute increasingly dangerous and over-the-top heists. GTA Online heists like those featured in the Grand Theft Auto 5 story became available in March 2015.
In the game, one of Michael's defining features is that he is a big movie buff and eventually starts working full-time for a movie studio. This apparent happy ending contradicts an appearance Michael's voice actor made where he cosplayed as a Grand Theft Auto restaurant employee. However, he never mentioned any animated films, so his thoughts on movies like Shrek are currently unknown. In a recent post, Reddit user UCProductions2002 shared a video where Michael reads the entire storybook from the opening sequence in Shrek, with an appropriate in-character reaction seen at the end.
The video itself apparently does not feature Michael's voice actor, Ned Luke. Ned Luke is currently rumored to be returning for Grand Theft Auto Online, but has yet to reprise the role in any official capacity. Instead, the voice was made from a program known as Uber Duck that synthesized the actor's voice. The video goes through the entire story using Michael's voice before he asks "What is this bullsh*t?"
Depending on the player's choices, Michael's story can end one of three ways in Grand Theft Auto 5. In one ending, Franklin kills him by throwing him off a building. In another, he and Franklin team up to kill Trevor in a brutal, over-the-top, fashion. In the third ending, the three protagonists team up to kill every single antagonist the trio had accumulated throughout the game. This third ending has seemingly been confirmed as Grand Theft Auto 5's canonical ending. Hopefully, this means fans will get to hear Michael trash talk movies like Shrek in an official capacity once again.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.