Shawn Fonteno

{{Infobox person

| name = Shawn Fonteno

| image = Shawn Fonteno (53609320943) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Fonteno in 2024

| birth_name = Shawn Darnell Fonteno

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|04|08}}

| birth_place = Watts, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| other_names = Solo
Big Solo

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Actor
rapper

}}

| years_active = 1994–present

| known_for = Portrayal of Franklin Clinton in Grand Theft Auto V

| children = 1

| relatives = Young Maylay (cousin)

}}

Shawn Darnell "Solo" Fonteno (born April 8, 1968){{Cite web |title=Shawn Fonteno - Filmography, Age, Biography, Credits & More |url=https://mabumbe.com/movies/people/1937430/shawn-fonteno |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Mabumbe |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Shawn Fonteno - Biography |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1062259/bio/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}} is an American actor and rapper. He is best known for playing Franklin Clinton in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V. Aside from his portrayal of Franklin Clinton, Fonteno has acted in films such as The Wash.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/15/movies/film-review-with-just-a-hint-of-a-plot-taking-it-easy-very-easy.html |title=FILM REVIEW; With Just a Hint of a Plot, Taking It Easy. Very Easy. |last=Mitchell |first=Elvis |authorlink=Elvis Mitchell |work=The New York Times |date=November 15, 2001 |accessdate=March 24, 2021 }}

Early life

Fonteno was born and raised in Watts, Los Angeles. He didn't know his father up until the age of 8, he met him in the hospital after his father had been shot in an armed robbery shootout. He joined an African-American street gang the Neighborhood Crips from a young age, dealing drugs and beginning to rise through the ranks before several near-fatal shootings and kidnapping attempts on his family inspired him to leave the gang. He was later at one point the vice-president of an African-American motorcycle club called the Choppers MC. He was still committing criminal acts with his crew but eventually decided to settle down and leave the MC life behind in good standing.{{Cite news |last=Montemarono |first=Jada |title=Watts native shares how starring in Grand Theft Auto 5 changed his life|language=en |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/human-interest/2022/05/20/watts-native-shares-how-starring-in-grand-theft-auto-5-changed-his-life|access-date=January 21, 2024}}{{Cite news |last=|first= |title=WSHH Presents: Life Behind The Game Feat. Shawn "Solo" Fonteno (The Story Of Franklin Clinton From GTA V)|language=en |url=https://worldstarhiphop.com/videos/wshhJVhO4dUBVfj8r2VX/wshh-presents-life-behind-the-game-feat-shawn-solo-fonteno-the-story-of-franklin-clinton-from-gta-v|access-date=January 21, 2024}}

Career

=Music career=

His rapping career was under the name Solo from his gangster nickname OG Solo. Fonteno was affiliated with several record companies including DJ Pooh's Lench Mob, Death Row Records, and Priority Records in the early 1990s. He was at one point the hype man of a duo group with rapper Kam. Solo appears as a hype man for Kam and DJ Pooh's music video "Whoop! Whoop!". Solo appears in Kam's "Peace Treaty" music video. The song "Where I Come From" was listed under the duo Kam & Solo. He made an appearance in a documentary Beef 2 where he described a fight in which he claimed to have knocked Ice Cube out due to a disagreement about business and later stole his chain. The episode played a significant role in the rivalry between Ice Cube's Westside Connection and Cypress Hill in the 1990s gangsta rap era.{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/grand-theft-auto-5-voice-actors-recreate-the-lamar-roasts-franklin-scene/|work=PC Gamer|title=Grand Theft Auto 5 voice actors recreate the 'Lamar Roasts Franklin' scene|author=Chalk, Andy|date=January 12, 2021}}{{Cite news |last= |first= |title='GRAND THEFT AUTO V' STAR HISTORY OF VIOLENCE WITH ICE CUBE 'But That Sh*T's Over Now'|language=en |url=https://www.tmz.com/2013/10/06/grand-theft-auto-shawn-fonteno-sister-gtav-kill-relationships/ |access-date=January 11, 2024}}

=''Grand Theft Auto V''=

Fonteno voiced and provided the motion capture for the character Franklin Clinton for the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V. In 2021, Fonteno reprised his role alongside Slink Johnson (who voiced Lamar Davis in the same game) in a live-action re-enactment of a cutscene where Lamar "roasts" Franklin.{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/grand-theft-auto-5-voice-actors-recreate-the-lamar-roasts-franklin-scene/|work=PC Gamer|title=Grand Theft Auto 5 voice actors recreate the 'Lamar Roasts Franklin' scene|author=Chalk, Andy|date=January 12, 2021}} The original scene had experienced a resurgence in popularity years later when parodies were uploaded online, usually involving Lamar's character model being replaced with various popular culture icons.{{Cite news |last=Good |first=Owen S. |date=January 13, 2021 |title=GTA 5's 'Lamar roasts Franklin' meme goes IRL with original actors |language=en |url=https://www.polygon.com/2021/1/13/22228982/gta-5-lamar-roasts-franklin-original-actors-video |access-date=January 23, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Boom |first=Daniel Van |title=GTA V's dumbest meme re-created IRL with the game's actual actors |language=en |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/gta-vs-dumbest-meme-recreated-irl-with-the-games-actual-actors/ |access-date=January 23, 2021}} Later that year, Fonteno and Johnson again reprised their roles in downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto Online, which included a homage to the original roast cutscene.{{Cite news |title=Lamar roasts Franklin again in GTA Online's The Contract update |language=en-GB |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/grand-theft-auto-v/franklin-mission |access-date=January 6, 2022}}

In 2022, Fonteno published a memoir titled Game Changer: My Journey From the Streets to Your Video Game Console, which details how he left his former life as a gang member to become an actor.{{Cite web |title=GTA 5 Actor Announces New Book About His Life & Starring In Rockstar's Game |url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/gta-5-actor-shawn-fonteno-new-book-rockstar-games/ |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=ComicBook.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Halsell |first=Betti |date=2022-04-14 |title=Legendary GTA Voice-Over Actor Shawn 'Solo' Fonteno Speaks his Truth in New 'Game Changer' Memoir |work=Los Angeles Sentinel |url=https://lasentinel.net/legendary-gta-voice-over-actor-shawn-solo-fonteno-speaks-his-truth-in-new-game-changer-memoir.html |access-date=2023-12-06}}

Personal life

Fonteno has a daughter named Bria.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxdeo8baGBc |title=GTA V SHAWN "SOLO" FONTENO FULL INTERVIEW |last=Fonteno |first=Bria |work=Fonteno Media |publisher=YouTube |date=August 19, 2019 |accessdate=June 30, 2021 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUQOQxfU9a0&t=20m5s|title=IGN's GTA 5 Panel - NY Comic Con 2013|date=October 12, 2013 |publisher=IGN|access-date=January 12, 2018}} Fonteno is the cousin of voice actor and rapper Young Maylay who voiced Carl "CJ" Johnson in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.{{Citation|title=IGN's GTA 5 Panel - NY Comic Con 2013| date=October 12, 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUQOQxfU9a0|language=en|access-date=2021-03-29}} He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.{{Citation |title=Shawn Fonteno chilling with Ned Luke #gta |url=https://www.youtube.com/shorts/viE_iWNaZ1Q |access-date=2023-08-18 |language=en}}

Filmography

=Film=

Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1994	Dead Homiez	Solo
2000	3 Strikes	Big Mo
2001	The Wash	Face
2017	Grow House	Bam

=Video games=

Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
2004	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Grove Street Families gang member	Voice – credited as "Solo"
2013	Grand Theft Auto V	rowspan="2" \| Franklin Clinton	Voice and motion-capture
2021	Grand Theft Auto Online	Voice and motion-capture The Contract content update

Published works

{{Cite book |last1=Fonteno |first1=Shawn 'Solo' |title=Game Changer: My Journey From the Streets to Your Video Game Console |last2=Jah |first2=Yusuf |publisher=Fonteno LLC |year=2022 |isbn=979-8424258275}}