Tommy Vercetti
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is a fictional character and the playable
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the 2002 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'', the fourth main installment in
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
's ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. The first protagonist in the series who can speak, Tommy was voiced by Ray Liotta. Portrayed as a temperamental
Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...
, Tommy is a
made man In the Sicilian and American Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. In order to become eligible to be "made", an associate must fulfill several requirements, such as being Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by ...
or ex-''
soldato A soldato or soldier is the first official level of both the Sicilian Mafia and the Italian-American Mafia in the formal Mafia hierarchy. It is also commonly used as a rank in other Italian criminal organizations, such as the 'Ndrangheta and ...
'' of the Forelli
crime family A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activities. In its strictest sense, a ''family'' ...
, a fictional Italian Mafia organisation. After serving a 15-year prison sentence for murder, Tommy is released in 1986 and resumes work in Vice City, a fictional city based on
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. However, he is soon tasked with recovering the stolen goods from an ambushed drug deal. Tommy's quest leads him to make various criminal contacts, building up a reputation within the criminal underworld of Vice City. Tommy eventually expands his criminal empire, becoming the city's kingpin. Tommy was well received by critics, who found him to be more fleshed-out and likeable than previous protagonists in the series, and praised his characterization, comparing it to that of Tony Montana from the 1983 film '' Scarface''. Liotta's performance as Tommy was also praised and earned him multiple year-end accolades.


Concept and design

Tommy Vercetti first appears wearing a teal Hawaiian shirt, jeans, and white sneakers. He is offered more wardrobe options as the game progresses. Tommy, in several ways, exhibits characteristics of fictional drug lord Tony Montana from the 1983 film '' Scarface''. This coincides with the heavy themes and appearance of the movie that has been implemented into ''Vice City''. The interplay between Tommy and Lance Vance was crafted to be similar to the relationship of ''Miami Vice''s Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. The team spent time "solving heriddle" of a speaking protagonist, a notable departure from ''Grand Theft Auto III''s
silent protagonist In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...
Claude. Ray Liotta portrayed protagonist Tommy Vercetti. Liotta described the role as challenging: "You're creating a character that's not there before ... It's so intensive". When recording the role, the team used blue screen in order to allow Liotta to visualise "how it's gonna move". The team ensured that the player felt "real affinity" for Tommy, making the narrative a key development interest. Dan Houser described Tommy as "strong and dangerous and prepared to wait for the right opportunity to arrive". Director Navid Khonsari found Liotta occasionally difficult to work with. "In some sessions he was ... into it, but then sometimes ... he was very dark and couldn't work", said Sam Houser. Prior to the release of ''Vice City'',
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
stated that Tommy was likely to "leave the same kind of imprint on kids today that ctor Ray Liotta'sportrayal of Ray Sinclair left on every high school and college kid who saw '' Something Wild'' back in 1986." They also compared Liotta's portrayal of Tommy to his portrayal of
Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testi ...
in '' Goodfellas''. When asked about his portrayal of Tommy, Liotta stated that "it was hard work." He said that "you're pretty much putting yourself in he game developers'hands and doing whatever they want so there's not much for you to do creatively."


Biography

Tommy Vercetti, born in Liberty City to an
Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
family, helped his father at a printing press as a child. Initially aspiring to an honest life, he fell into crime as a teenager through Sonny Forelli, a mafia boss who eventually made him a member of the Forelli Crime Family. In 1971, Sonny, fearing Tommy's growing influence, set him up in a trap that led to Tommy killing 11 men in self-defense. Arrested for multiple murders, Tommy earned the nickname "The Harwood Butcher" and served 15 years in prison. In 1986, freshly released, Tommy was sent to Vice City by Sonny to oversee a drug deal. The deal was ambushed, leaving Tommy to recover the lost money and drugs. During his investigation, he formed alliances with figures like Ken Rosenberg, Colonel Cortez, Kent Paul, Lance Vance, and Avery Carrington. Discovering drug lord Ricardo Diaz orchestrated the ambush, Tommy and Lance killed Diaz in his own mansion, seizing his empire. With Diaz's assets, Tommy established the "Vercetti Gang", distancing himself from the Forellis and building a vast criminal empire. He neglected Lance, who felt sidelined while expanding his operations and forming alliances with local gangs. When Sonny arrived in Vice City demanding payment, he revealed Lance’s betrayal and his role in Tommy’s 1971 arrest. A shootout ensued, resulting in Tommy killing both Sonny and Lance. With his rivals eliminated, Tommy cemented his position as Vice City's undisputed kingpin. Not much is known about Tommy's life after 1986 other than his partnership with Ken being short-lived. At some point before 1992, when Ken's
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
addiction became a serious nuisance for Tommy, he sent him to a rehabilitation center in Fort Carson, San Andreas, and abandoned him there. In '' The Introduction'', a short prologue film to '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', Ken gets out of rehab after completing his treatment and tries to contact Tommy, but is unsuccessful, as the latter has cut all ties with him.


Reception

The character of Tommy Vercetti received very positive reviews and remarks from critics and players of ''Vice City'', making it to many lists of the best video game characters. ''
AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...
''s Scott Alan Marriott found Tommy more engaging than ''Grand Theft Auto III''s Claude; ''IGN''s Perry felt that Rockstar "found the right person and the right choice", and ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' wrote that Tommy "sweats charisma", commending Liotta's performance. ''
CraveOnline Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial D ...
'' stated that playing as Tommy was "a breath of fresh air". ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' praised Liotta's acting and stated "while the character riffs on Tony Montana throughout the game, Liotta's speeches give him a reckless sense of humour that makes him more likeable". GameDaily praised Liotta's portrayal as having transformed him from a generic-looking thug to a "tough guy who ruled the 80's." ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'' described Tommy as "the most amoral" ''Grand Theft Auto'' protagonist. Andy Kelly of '' TheGamer'' described Tommy as the "Greatest GTA Protagonist", highlighting his role as the first fully developed character in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. Unlike the eight interchangeable protagonists in the earlier 2D games—whose differences were limited to superficial traits like clothing and skin tone—Tommy featured a well-defined personality. While Claude from ''Grand Theft Auto III'' introduced some character depth, his silence left him lacking in overall personality. Kelly credited Ray Liotta for bringing Tommy to life, though he noted that Liotta was initially unfamiliar with the franchise's scale and faced conflicts with Rockstar during the recording process. Through comparing Tommy to other protagonists like Niko Bellic, Michael De Santa, and Carl Johnson, Kelly emphasized how Tommy's motives and backstory make him stand out. Liotta won the award for Best Live Action/Voice Male Performance at the 2003 G-Phoria Awards and Best Performance by a Human at the 2003
Spike Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by '' GameT ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vercetti, Tommy Fictional assassins in video games Fictional businesspeople in video games Fictional criminals in video games Fictional American people in video games Fictional aviators Fictional characters from New York (state) Fictional characters from Florida Fictional crime bosses Fictional drug dealers Fictional mass murderers Fictional money launderers Fictional gangsters Fictional gunfighters in video games Fictional thieves Grand Theft Auto characters Male characters in video games Video game characters introduced in 2002 Video game mascots Fictional Italian people in video games