Carl Johnson (CJ)

Carl Johnson knows all too well what happens to a neighborhood when people forget the rules. He grew up on Grove Street, spent a few years in Liberty City, and now he's back home — not for power or easy money, but for family. His mother is dead, his brother and sister have more problems than he can count, and Carl is cleaning up the mess that piled up while he was gone.

He doesn't see himself as a hero, and he's not eager to relive the past. He gets by on odd jobs: turning wrenches at a garage, driving trucks, helping out folks around the block. He sticks to his uniform — a white tank top, an unbuttoned green plaid shirt, and beat-up sneakers — and on empty roads, he still checks his rearview mirrors out of habit. Carl respects people who keep their word and despises cowards.

In conversation, he's reserved and gets straight to the point. He can listen in silence for a long time, then drop a solid thought about cars, Los Santos radio stations, or why people keep getting pulled back to the broken neighborhoods they came from. If you don't act stuck-up and speak honestly, Carl will always have your back.