Shawn Fonteno | |
---|---|
Born | Shawn Darnell Fonteno Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Other names | Solo, Big Solo |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1994–present |
Known for | Portrayal as Franklin Clinton in Grand Theft Auto V |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Young Maylay (cousin) |
Shawn Darnell Fonteno, also known as Solo, is an American actor and rapper. He is best known for playing Franklin Clinton in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V . Aside from his portrayal of Franklin Clinton, Fonteno has acted in films such as The Wash . [1]
Fonteno was born and raised in Watts, Los Angeles. He never knew his father until the age of eight; he met him in the hospital after his father had been shot in an armed robbery shootout. He joined an African-American street gang the Neighborhood Crips from a young age, dealing drugs and beginning to rise through the ranks before several near-fatal shootings and kidnapping attempts on his family inspired him to leave the gang. He was later at one point the vice-president of an African-American motorcycle club called the Choppers MC. He was still committing criminal acts with his crew but eventually decided to settle down and leave the MC life behind in good standing. [2] [3]
His rapping career was under the name Solo from his gangster nickname OG Solo. Fonteno was affiliated with several record companies including DJ Pooh's Lench Mob, Death Row Records, and Priority Records in the early 1990’s. He was at one point the hype man of a duo group with rapper Kam. Solo appears as a hype man for Kam and DJ Pooh's music video "Whoop! Whoop!". Solo also appears in Kam's "Peace Treaty" music video. The song "Where I Come From" was listed under the duo Kam & Solo. He made an appearance in a documentary "Beef 2" where he described a fight in which he claimed to have knocked Ice Cube out due to a disagreement about business and later stole his chain. The episode played a significant role in the bitter rivalry between Ice Cube's Westside Connection and Cypress Hill in the 1990s gangsta rap era. [4] [5]
Fonteno voiced and provided the motion capture for the character Franklin Clinton for the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V . In 2021, Fonteno reprised his role alongside Slink Johnson (who voiced Lamar Davis in the same game) in a live-action re-enactment of a cutscene where Lamar "roasts" Franklin. [6] The original scene had experienced a resurgence in popularity years later when parodies were uploaded online, usually involving Lamar's character model being replaced with various popular culture icons. [7] [8] Later that year, Fonteno and Johnson again reprised their roles in downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto Online , which included a homage to the original roast cutscene. [9]
In 2022, Fonteno published a memoir titled Game Changer: My Journey From the Streets to Your Video Game Console, which details how he left his former life as a gang member to become an actor. [10] [11]
Fonteno has a daughter named Bria. [12] [13] Fonteno is also the cousin of voice actor and rapper Young Maylay who voiced Carl "CJ" Johnson in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . [14] He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. [15]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | Dead Homiez | Solo | |
2000 | 3 Strikes | Big Mo | |
2001 | The Wash | Face | |
2017 | Grow House | Bam | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | Grove Street Families gang member | Voice – credited as "Solo" |
2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Franklin Clinton | Voice and motion-capture |
2021 | Grand Theft Auto Online | Voice and motion-capture The Contract content update | |
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fourth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, and the sixth entry overall. Set in 1986 within the fictional Vice City, the single-player story follows mobster Tommy Vercetti's rise to power after being released from prison and becoming caught up in an ambushed drug deal. While seeking out those responsible, Tommy gradually builds a criminal empire by seizing power from other criminal organisations in the city.
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 1999's Grand Theft Auto 2, and the fifth instalment overall. Set within the fictional Liberty City, the story follows Claude, a silent protagonist who, after being left for dead by his girlfriend during a robbery, embarks on a quest for revenge leading him to become entangled in a world of crime, drugs, gang warfare, and corruption. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Its open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main areas.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fifth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the seventh entry overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, the game follows Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home after his mother's murder and finds his old street gang has lost much of their territory. Over the course of the game, he attempts to rebuild the gang, clashes with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals, and gradually unravels the truth behind his mother's murder.
Christopher Bellard, also known by his stage name Young Maylay, is an American rapper, record producer and actor based in Los Angeles. He is best known for his portrayal of Carl "CJ" Johnson, the main character of the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North, and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 action-adventure game developed in a collaboration between Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games. The ninth installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, it was initially released as a PlayStation Portable exclusive in October 2005. A port for the PlayStation 2 was later released in June 2006. At the time of release, the recommended retail price of the PS2 port was around half the price of the PSP version, because the PS2 version does not feature the custom soundtrack ripping capability of the PSP version. Ports for iOS, Android and Fire OS devices were also released in December 2015, February 2016, and March 2016, respectively.
"Hot Coffee" is the unofficial name for a minigame in the 2004 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by Rockstar Games. While it was not playable in the official game release, the modding community discovered hidden code that, when enabled, allows protagonist Carl "CJ" Johnson to have animated sexual intercourse with his in-game girlfriend.
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the eleventh entry overall. Set in the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City, the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey.
Trevor Philips is a character and one of the three playable protagonists, alongside Michael de Santa and Franklin Clinton, of Grand Theft Auto V, the seventh main title in the Grand Theft Auto series developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. He also appears in the game's multiplayer component, Grand Theft Auto Online. A career criminal and former bank robber, Trevor leads his own organisation, Trevor Philips Enterprises, and comes into conflict with various rival gangs and criminal syndicates as he attempts to secure control of the drugs and weapons trade in the fictional Blaine County, San Andreas. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Steven Ogg, who provided the voice and motion capture for the character.
Mark S. Jordan, better known by his stage name DJ Pooh, is an American record producer, rapper, screenwriter, and film director. He is perhaps best known for his production work on Ice Cube's 1993 single "It Was a Good Day", which remains one of the most popular songs in hip hop music. He was also part of the musical group Uncle Jamm's Army, as well as the West Coast production outfit L.A. Posse.
Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips, and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.
"Hood Gone Love It" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Jay Rock. It was released as the second single from his debut studio album Follow Me Home (2011). The song features Rock's Black Hippy cohort Kendrick Lamar and was produced by American production team J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. It was also used in promotion for and included in the game Grand Theft Auto V. The song peaked on the US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles at number 18.
Steven Ogg is a Canadian actor. Ogg is best known for playing Trevor Philips in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V and Simon in The Walking Dead. He has also appeared in the Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul.
A team of approximately 1,000 people developed Grand Theft Auto V over several years. Rockstar Games released the action-adventure game in September 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, in April 2015 for Windows, and in March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The first main Grand Theft Auto series entry since Grand Theft Auto IV, its development was led by Rockstar North's core 360-person team, who collaborated with several other international Rockstar studios. The team considered the game a spiritual successor to many of their previous projects like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. After its unexpected announcement in 2011, the game was fervently promoted with press showings, cinematic trailers, viral marketing strategies and special editions. Its release date, though subject to several delays, was widely anticipated.
Grand Theft Auto Online is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 1 October 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 18 November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, 14 April 2015 for Windows, and 15 March 2022 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game is the online component of Grand Theft Auto V. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto Online allows up to 30 players to explore its open world environment and engage in cooperative or competitive game modes.
Ned Armstrong Luke is an American actor. He is known for portraying Michael De Santa in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V. Luke also voiced Raffles in the animated movie Rover Dangerfield. He has appeared in 29 movies and television shows as well as over 100 commercials.
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Gerald "Slink" Johnson, also known by his stage name Slink Capone, is an American rapper, actor and comedian. He starred in the sitcom Black Jesus and portrayed Lamar Davis in the 2013 video games Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is a 2021 compilation of three action-adventure games in the Grand Theft Auto series: Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004). Developed by Grove Street Games and published by Rockstar Games, all three games are remastered, with visual enhancements and gameplay upgrades. The games feature different protagonists and locations within the same continuity. Grand Theft Auto III follows silent protagonist Claude in Liberty City; Vice City, set in 1986, features mobster Tommy Vercetti in the fictional Vice City; and San Andreas, set in 1992, follows gangster Carl "CJ" Johnson within the state of San Andreas.
Grand Theft Auto VI is an upcoming video game in development by Rockstar Games. It is due to be the eighth main Grand Theft Auto game, following Grand Theft Auto V (2013), and the sixteenth entry overall. Set within the fictional open world state of Leonida—based on Florida—and its Miami-inspired Vice City, the story is expected to follow the criminal duo of Lucia and her male partner.