Michael De Santa

Michael De Santa, also known as Boyfriend, Harry Maxwell, Judas, M, Marky De Santos, Michael Townley, Michael Townley De Santa, Michele, Mike, Mikey, Mr. De Santo, Mr. DS, Mr. Fancy Big City Ideas, Mr. Plastic, Mr. Sarcasm, Mr. Suxxx, Mr. Therapy, MT, Old Dude, Slick, Suede Bucks, Sugar Tits, The Sneaky Dude, Zolag and Zondar, is one of the main characters from the Grand Theft Auto V series.
== Charactah Account ==
Michael is a former bank robber and career criminal who faked his death to retire and live a peaceful life with his family in Los Santos. However, his unhealthy relationship with them takes its toll and he soon gets pulled back into his criminal life, forcing him to return to his old ways. Michael's story centers around how his seemingly idyllic and halcyon lifestyle is halted as his past demons and morally dubious lifestyle choices come back to haunt him.
Meanwhile, Michael's midlife crisis pushes him to his ultimate snapping point, and he becomes determined to achieve something more with his life while also attempting to escape his past, become a free man and start a new life with his family. Michael is an old friend of fellow protagonist Trevor, and, early on in the storyline, he also befriends Franklin and becomes a mentor figure to him. He is the husband of Amanda and the father of Jimmy and Tracey.
== Appearance ==
=== Video Games ===
* Grand Theft Auto V
== Trivia ==
* Michael was the first protagonist that came to Rockstar's mind when they began the development of Grand Theft Auto V.
* Michael's favorite radio stations are Los Santos Rock Radio, Vinewood Boulevard Radio, and Radio Mirror Park. He also seems to have a taste for funk, as the radio inside his mansion is tuned to The Lowdown 91.1, and he will bob his head in appreciation to both it and Space 103.2 while in a vehicle. Additionally, he will listen to Rebel Radio, during his time in Blaine County.
* After firing a pistol and starting to run or walk as Michael, he will be holding it in both hands, unlike Franklin and Trevor.
* Michael's special ability might be a reference to Max Payne, another Rockstar-owned franchise, where the title character possesses an ability called Bullet Time, that allow him to slow down time.
* Michael's great shooting accuracy also makes him one of the most challenging opponents while playing Darts.
* The quote that Michael uses in Prologue and The Jewel Store Job, "You forget a thousand things everyday, make sure this is one of them.", is from the Solomon Richards movie Arthur Penny's Sanitorium, although slightly modified. The original line is "We forget a thousand things everyday, can't we just make this one of them?".
* Throughout the game, Michael displays a contempt for yoga instructors. Coincidentally, his voice and motion capture performer Ned Luke is married to a yoga instructor.
* Opposite to Trevor, who hates Los Santos, Michael declares many times that he hates the Grand Senora Desert and claims in Monkey Business that he will never return there.
* Michael Townley is a real person under federal witness protection. He was a former CIA operative who was involved in the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier, a Chilean ambassador.
* It is possible that Michael dreamed of becoming a cop growing up, as suggested by Trevor Phillips in "I Fought the Law...".
* Michael was called "snowbird" by Devin Weston and Gianni. "Snowbird" means someone from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, Pacific Northwest, or Canada who spends a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt of the southern and southwest United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean. The way that snowbird was used by Devin and Gianni towards Michael was a reference to how he moved to Los Santos from Ludendorff.
* Michael may be of Irish descent, as a number of his possible tattoos are Irish-themed, his former surname, Townley, is of Celtic origin, he has green eyes and his favourite drink is whisky, which are common Irish traits.
* Upon returning to his house, one possible line of dialogue for Michael to shout is "Daddy's back, bitches!", the first line of dialogue in Grand Theft Auto IV.
* Michael has unique, terrifying reactions when he hits a family member with a car.
* On Michael's tombstone in North Yankton it states that he was born in 1965 (making him 48 in 2013). One of the coroners in "Dead Man Walking" describes him as being in his "late 40s", and Michael refers to himself as "the last of the baby boomers" in The Bureau Raid (Roof Entry), which would back up the birth year of 1965. However, Trevor, Lester, and his son Jimmy all state that he is 45 years old (meaning he was born in 1968).
* If Michael accesses the in-game website PsychicShoutout and speaks with Ms. Tammy, she will reveal that Amanda has already had sex with the yoga instructor (Fabien LaRouche), the tennis coach (Kyle Chavis) and also a fireman, a plumber, a beach lifeguard, a truck driver, a dustman, a gardener as well as a hipster. Michael will angrily replies that they have an open relationship. This is later backed up by Tracey De Santa in the mission Reuniting the Family when Michael drives himself, Tracey and Jimmy De Santa to Dr. Friedlander's office.
* When walking, Michael is slightly slower than Franklin or Trevor; this might be due to him being retired and not as active as he used to be. His voice and motion-capture performer Ned Luke even put on 25 pounds to replicate this.
* When someone talks to Michael on his right side, he shifts his body toward that person. This is because in real life, Ned Luke, Michael's voice and motion-capture actor, is deaf in his right ear.
* A person comments under the film Rum Runner's synopsis on the Classic Vinewood in-game website, under the pseudonym 'michaelds', saying "I wanted to be Eddie Olson when I was a kid. Just without the handicap fetish.". "michaelds" is most likely a pseudonym for Michael De Santa.
* There's a second comment from 'michaelds' under the film The Many Wives of Alfredo Smith's synopsis. In this one, Michael comments: "This is how movies should be. A plot so tangled that you still don't know what's going on even after watching it five times. Not the dumbed down sickly sweet trash Vinewood pumps out these days.".
* At one point during the development of GTA V, Michael's name was Albert De Silva, as per the Rush Casting Call.
* After Isiah Friedlander's optional death in Abandonment Issues (non-canon choice), it is stated on the radio that Michael's name was "Marky De Santos", possibly to hide his identity. Ahron Ward and the police dispatcher also call Michael "Mr. De Santo" and "Michael De Santo", respectively.
* On the Overview page on the Social Club, Michael's business card strangely says "Michael Townley" instead of "Michael De Santa". It also says "entrepreneur", just like Franklin's.
* Michael sleeps for the shortest time of the three characters. When saving the game with Michael, the game skips ahead six hours. Franklin sleeps for eight hours, while Trevor sleeps for twelve. While he lives alone after his family moves out, one of his switch scenes will show him waking up screaming and pointing a gun around. He may suffer from nightmares, which could explain his short sleeping time compared to Trevor and Franklin.
* Michael's appearance in the game may be based on Robert De Niro's character Neil McCauley in the movie Heat as both characters are professional bank robbers, of Irish descent, dealing with a psychopath (Trevor in-game, Waingro in the movie). Both have a friend in law enforcement.
** A clear reference to the movie Heat is seen in the mission Blitz Play, where Michael, Trevor, and Franklin attempt to rob an armored truck by ramming into it with a large tow truck. In the movie, De Niro's character and his crew attempt to steal the armored van under the same circumstances, but a crew member, "Waingro", who Trevor is based on, messes it up by killing the security guards.
* According to a phone call with Dr. Isiah Friedlander, Michael tried taking behavior medication before the events of the game but stopped because the dosage was incorrect, causing him to "cry and piss all over himself".
* There is a lot of similarity between Michael and Tony Soprano from the TV show, The Sopranos:
** Both Tony and Michael smoke cigars.
** They both go to a shrink, even though none believes in therapy.
** Both of them have two children, a boy and a girl, with whom they have a lot of fights, especially about their job, Tony being a mafia boss and Michael being a robber.
** Both of them have trouble with their wives and shaky relationships. However, Tony's wife Carmela doesn't cheat on him, like Amanda cheats on Michael.
** They both live in a big house with a pool.
** Their language and way of speaking are similar.
** Both of them are huge movie fans, and they both prefer classic movies of Hollywood (GTA world, Vinewood), to "new-age" movies.
** Both are known for their similar hypocrisy.
** Both played football during their childhood.
* Michael shares many similarities with Max Payne from the Max Payne franchise:
** Both men have/had a wife and child(ren).
** Both have a drinking problem.
** Both men have similar physical appearances.
** Both men are around the same age if Michael was born in 1965.
** Both men have the same ability: “Bullet Time”, where they slow down time to focus their shooting.
** Both men are/were fugitives of the law.
** Both men were used in scandals.
** Both men can share the same hairstyles and clothing.
* While wearing the Epsilon tunic, other characters, such as Bob Mulét and other barbers, may say Kifflom to Michael in greeting.
== Gallery ==
File:Michael De Santa Render 01.png
File:Michael De Santa Render 02.png
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== External Links ==
* Michael De Santa at GTA Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Grand Theft Auto V