GTA 5 Franklin’s Best Quotes, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Franklin emerges as the real lead character, showing growth and maturity throughout the game.
• Franklin’s interactions with Lamar highlight the evolution of his character and his understanding of the criminal world.
• His loyalty and ability to outsmart enemies showcase his rise in the criminal underworld.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is filled with a variety of great characters and fantastic moments, the game has one of the strongest scripts that a video game has ever seen. From Michael’s sarcastic wit to Trevor’s absolutely lunatic turns of phrase, there are a number of great quotes among the three protagonists.

However, Franklin is the real lead character of Grand Theft Auto 5. Despite being young and inexperienced in the world of crime, he makes up for it by being a quick learner and a brave man. His style and wit are apparent, but never quite as set in one direction or style as Michael or Trevor, leading to some fantastic quotes throughout the game.

Updated on November 25, 2024, by Chris Harkin: The historic placement of Grand Theft Auto 5 is and will remain atop the history of greatest games. Although there have been some memorable characters throughout the history of Grand Theft Auto, with more surely to come, Franklin remains one of the most fascinating examples of somebody who wants to achieve great things from humble beginnings. Though he finds out how challenging criminal enterprises can be along the way, Franklin is still a generally happy character who appreciates what he gains from this life while understanding the consequences, and his quotes reflect the depth of his character and what he learns over time.

9 “You Cool? Cool What? Slinging Dope And Throwing Up Gang Signs?”

Franklin Tiring Of His Previous Life

• Said To Lamar
• Said After Franklin Tires Of Lamar

Franklin is a small-time criminal who doesn’t seem that interested in the life he’s leading when Grand Theft Auto 5 opens. He quickly falls in with the likes of Michael and Trevor and becomes a much bigger-time criminal over the course of the game, but he becomes more exasperated with the people he used to hang around with, especially Lamar.

Originally, Lamar appears much more interested in the life of crime than Franklin, but for all his blustering, he doesn’t seem to be smart enough or resourceful enough to get to the high level of crime that Franklin manages. This leads to Franklin finally getting fed up with Lamar’s bravado and telling him what he thinks of his lifestyle.

8 “I Just Came By To See If There’s Something I Can Help You With”

Shows How Eager Franklin Is To Learn & Grow

• Said To Michael
• Said Before Franklin Becomes Part Of The Crew

Franklin is a go-getter, beyond anything else. He is happy to do the work with Lamar repossessing cars because he believes it can get him to where he wants to be. For the same reason, he surprises Michael by turning up at his house and trying to turn him into his mentor, in spite of Michael forcing Franklin to crash a car into Simeon’s garage, which can actually be returned to in a rare encounter.

Instead of fearing Michael and staying away from him, Franklin is smart enough and level-headed enough to see that what he so desperately wants is what Michael represents. Michael has the family, the house, the money, and the comfortable life, and Franklin can tell that he achieved all of this in the same way Franklin is looking to achieve it.

7 “Peach Body Oil, Fake Guns, Hair Extensions. Sh*t, I Love You!”

Shows Franklin’s Inexperience With Certain Things

• Said To A Stripper
• Said After Franklin Gets Particularly Drunk

Franklin is a hilarious character, particularly when players get him drunk. While inside one of the strip clubs that Los Santos has to offer, Franklin tries to compliment a bartender with this ridiculous line. If delivered by Michael, this line would seem snarky and sarcastic, but Franklin seems to be genuinely loving all of these aspects.

This is the sort of line that makes it easy to remember Franklin’s youthfulness and naivety, often forgotten about during the more serious moments of Grand Theft Auto 5. His childish ways come out more in less serious moments such as this, reminders that all the glamour and glitz are new to him.

6 “Nothing’s Real In This Town”

A Sign That Franklin Understands Los Santos

• Said To Lamar
• Said After Lamar Tries To Make His Own Drug Deal

Some of the best ways in which players can see the progression of Franklin’s character over the course of Grand Theft Auto 5 are in his interactions with Lamar. Once his best friend, Franklin tires quickly of Lamar’s hair-brained schemes and idiotic nature as he learns more about the world of crime and Los Santos.

When Lamar thinks he’s found a great deal of his own with some drugs, Franklin tries to warn him, having learned a lot from Michael’s cynical view of the world. But it doesn’t work, and luckily Trevor helps them both avoid disaster by figuring out that Lamar’s drugs are fake before the deal goes any further.

5 “You Two Motherf***rs Terrify Me Of That Middle Age”

Shows Franklin Tiring Of Michael & Trevor’s Arguments

• Said To Michael & Trevor
• Said After Another Argument

Franklin is often left later in the game witnessing the various squabbles that Michael and Trevor have continually in their relationship. After witnessing one of these in particular, Franklin remarks that he is scared of the idea of becoming a middle-aged man because of these two, who are at varying stages of their lives but are of a similar age.

This is a highly amusing reminder of how much younger Franklin is than either of the other two protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 5. But it is also a reminder of how crazy it is that Michael and Trevor are still engaging in this kind of criminal activity at their age.

4 “You’re A Genetic Experiment Gone Wrong, Dog”

Shows Franklin Has No Idea How To Flirt

• Said To A Random Woman
• Said At A Random Moment

Franklin is at his weirdest and worst when trying to hit on women in Grand Theft Auto 5. One positively insane moment is when he tries to pick up a prostitute on the street by calling her a genetic experiment gone wrong, and later saying she’s nothing but a punk.

Franklin isn’t the smoothest with women, or with anybody really, but it is surprising to see such a random line come out of him when there isn’t even anything wrong with the woman’s appearance. It is a reminder of Franklin’s immaturity in some respects, even though he is clearly a pretty smart guy in general.

3 “Work First, Bicker Later”

Shows Franklin Is The Mature One Of The Trio

• Said To Michael & Trevor
• Said During Another Wrongly-Timed Argument

Although Franklin is by far the youngest of the main trio, he is often the most focused on work. Michael and Trevor have a lot of history and they really do bicker like an old married couple, even at times when it is vitally important that the trio stays focused. Franklin very much becomes the child trying to calm down his parents in this scenario.

Franklin’s lack of experience in crime quickly disappears, and then he becomes the most useful and focused of the trio. Trevor doesn’t care for nice things, and Michael already has the big house and family, so Franklin is the one with the most to gain from their work and he shows it by constantly trying to keep the other two locked on to their mission.

2 “Yeah Bro, Of Course I Did”

Shows That Franklin Has Real Loyalty

• Said To Michael
• Said After Franklin Saves Michael’s Life

Franklin’s story throughout Grand Theft Auto 5 is primarily about moving up in the world of crime and forming a close bond with Michael, whose story involves not feeling close to his own son. The dynamic between them is shown in a culminating moment when Franklin saves Michael’s life, and after being thanked, merely shrugs off the heroic act.

This shows how Franklin is different from Michael, who never had such a level of loyalty or stuck around long enough to help his friends. Franklin helps change this side of Michael as much as Michael helps Franklin learn to be a more high-level criminal.

1 “My Bad Homie, I Picked C. Ain’t That A Bitch?”

Shows Franklin Wins In The End

• Said To Devin
• Said When The Big Reveal Happens

There are different endings to Grand Theft Auto 5, but the one that is most likely the canon ending is Option C. This is where, instead of killing either Michael or Trevor, the trio teams up for one last job to get one over on all of their enemies. This “Deathwish” ending is crazy but so is the rest of the game, and it culminates in the trio capturing Devin Weston.

This is when Franklin informs Devin that, despite him having seemingly held all the cards, Franklin and Lester together are able to come up with a plan that involves Michael and Trevor both surviving. It is the moment Franklin’s loyalty and defiance become clear, and the moment he perhaps truly surpasses Michael and Trevor in this world.