Stephen Root Confirms His GTA 6 Role, Breaking Rockstar’s Total Silence on the Cast
Rockstar Games has never officially named a single actor attached to Grand Theft Auto VI, but that streak just took its first hit. At a BAFTA TV Tea Party held at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on September 14, veteran character actor Stephen Root told the Associated Press that he voices Brian Heder in the upcoming crime game, making him the first person tied to a GTA 6 role by his own admission rather than fan speculation.
How Root Let It Slip
Root wasn’t exactly cagey once the topic came up. Asked about the role, he acknowledged there was little point in staying quiet, since he said “too many people who knew me from King of the Hill” would recognize his voice the moment Brian Heder opened his mouth. He also explained that his lines were recorded around the time of Rockstar’s earliest promotional rollout for the game, close to a year ago, which is part of why the secret proved so hard to keep. He added that he’s happy to finally be openly associated with the project.
Who Is Brian Heder?
Per Rockstar’s own official character profile for Grand Theft Auto VI, Heder is a longtime drug smuggler who runs a boatyard business in the Leonida Keys and is currently on his third wife, Lori. He also acts as a landlord of sorts to protagonist Jason Duval, letting him stay rent free in exchange for occasional favors and social obligations. It isn’t officially confirmed, but a friend named Brian whom Jason and Lucia Caminos meet up with at a club during Rockstar’s Extended Look gameplay reveal in August lines up neatly with Heder’s place in Jason’s life.
Grand Theft Auto VI official key art
A Career That Made Him Impossible to Hide
Root has spent decades building one of the most recognizable voices in American television and film. He played Bill Dauterive on King of the Hill, Milton Waddams in Office Space, and Monroe Fuches on Barry, a role that earned him an Emmy nomination in 2019. With a career like that, hiding a supporting role behind an in game character model was never going to work for long.
Rockstar Still Hasn’t Said a Word
Root’s comments came from him, not Rockstar. The studio has yet to confirm a single cast member for Grand Theft Auto VI, despite more than a year of fans combing through trailer audio and the Netflix Extended Look gameplay reveal for clues about who’s voicing protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos. A couple of names have circulated online as likely candidates for months, but neither Rockstar nor the actors in question have confirmed anything. Root’s admission is the first crack in that wall, even if it only covers a supporting character for now.
For more on Grand Theft Auto VI ahead of its November 19 launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, check out our recap of the game’s Extended Look gameplay reveal and our report on the DualSense controller preorder frenzy already surrounding the game.
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Picture Source: Rockstar Games
