User:JayJ47/Niko Bellic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Niko Bellic
Image:Niko-Bellic.png
Game series	Grand Theft Auto
First game	Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Voiced by	Michael Hollick

Niko Bellic is a fictional character in the Grand Theft Auto video game series, serving as the protagonist, anti-hero/hero and player-controlled character in Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko is a 30-year-old male of unspecified Balkan ethnicity^[1], between 5’11” and 6’2” (1,80-1,88 m) and is 190-200 lbs (86-90 kg), who grew up in a war-torn country. ^[2]^[3] ^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] Niko is voiced by Michael Hollick.^[8] Hollick was paid about $100,000 for his voice acting and motion-capture work over the course of about 15 months from 2006 to 2008. Hollick was paid about $1,050 a day for his work on the game, about 50% more than the standard Screen Actors Guild-negotiated rate for actors. Hollick told The New York Times that while he was a theater student at Carnegie Mellon University he developed a talent for dialects.^[9]

1 Role
- 1.1 Prologue
- 1.2 Arrival in Liberty City
2 Personality
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Role

[edit] Prologue

Niko served in the Bosnian War on the Serbian side as an "angry" teenager, and witnessed and committed numerous atrocities which deeply affected him, giving him a cynical view on life and serious feelings of regret and depression as he got older. A defining moment in the war for Niko was when his army unit of fifteen young men (including him) were ambushed by the enemy. Niko barely escaped with his life, but most of his friends were killed and he later discovered that two others also survived. Realizing that one of them tipped the enemy off to their location, Niko vowed to track down the culprit, not solely on revenge, but because he needed closure and that doing so would put his demons to rest. When the war ended, work was hard to come by in the country. His cousin, Roman, moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City. Niko, knowing only violence most of his life, turned to the criminal underworld for the next ten years while at the same time searching for the two men who survived the ambush. At some point during this interval, he was arrested and imprisoned.

Sometime after he was released, Niko joined a human trafficking ring run by Rodislav Bulgarin. Niko eventually discovered that Florian Cravic, another survivor of the ambush, was living in Liberty City. When a boat sank during one smuggling run, Niko managed to swim to safety, but everything else was lost. Bulgarin believed Niko sunk the boat and escaped with the money onboard. Niko denied this, but Bulgarin's decision was final and he was too powerful a figure to fight back against. Niko quickly joined the merchant navy and fled Bulgarin. He spent the next seven months at sea, befriending the crew of the Platypus and contemplating Roman's request for him to come to America. Roman had been asking Niko to come to Liberty City to share a new life of money and women, which Niko wanted, but he mainly wanted to find Cravic and escape Bulgarin's wrath.

[edit] Arrival in Liberty City

Upon arriving in Liberty City, Niko realizes that Roman's tales of success were lies: he lives in a tiny apartment, runs a small taxi depot and owes gambling debts to several criminals. Niko ends up working for Roman, protecting his cousin from the loan sharks that keep harassing him. Roman soon loans Niko's services to friends and enemies alike, which angers Niko although he needs the money, and sets in motion the events of the game. Though Niko is seemingly a cold person, he is in fact friendly and caring. These qualities allow him to make friends quickly, often with benefits. Little Jacob, Packie McReary and Dwayne Forge are just some of the people he has helped and befriended. Niko's view of American culture is one of confusion and mild disgust. The rampant materialism annoys him and he has trouble relating to Roman's fascination with the country. Plus, after working for so many criminals, he feels that everyone in Liberty City is a crook. Eventually, he warms to the country and accepts that its flaws are not as great as those of Serbia. Niko's biggest flaw, as mentioned by Roman many times, is his inability to let go of the past - mainly the tragic betrayal that got so many of his friends killed - and his pessimistic view on nearly every aspect of life, which contrasts greatly to Roman's optimism.

[edit] Personality

Niko seems to have a natural talent for forging friendships. He can become close to almost anyone, even some once counted as enemies. However, he will not hesitate to sever a previously profitable relationship if it goes against his values or completes one of his objectives.

This air of friendliness is just a fascade, however, used to better facilitate his time in Liberty City. Niko has been described as "cold" by multiple people. His own cousin has called him a "sociopathic serial killer" to his face. He accepts jobs that will inevitably result in the death of one or more people with an air of utter casualness.

He seems to believe that the ends justify the means: he doesn't care what gets between him in his journey, as long has he completes his personal objectives and keeps the people closest to him safe. However, even he has limits to what he'll kill for, and generally only takes on "hits" if there's a passably good reason behind it.