Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games and former lead writer, believes that the script he wrote for GTA: Vice City was not top-notch, but in his view, it was the legendary actor Ray Liotta who truly brought the dialogue of this classic game to life.
Nowadays, the Grand Theft Auto series is accustomed to having stars join its cast—just look at the star-studded soundtrack lineup of GTA 6—but more than twenty years ago, Ray Liotta voicing the protagonist of GTA: Vice City was absolutely a major event that shook the industry.
In an interview with IGN, Houser was asked about his experience working with the iconic actor, known for roles in Something Wild and Goodfellas, to voice Tommy Vercetti. He stated, "The script I wrote was terrible; it was Ray Liotta who made the dialogue in Vice City sound natural and brilliant."
He added, "All great actors can do this. They dig out things beyond the literal text of the script. Acting is a very special art form, but it is undoubtedly an art. You'll find a huge gap between truly outstanding actors and average ones. An average actor can only realize my conception of the character in my mind, while a top-tier actor can take it to another level, which he clearly did."
Houser also recounted how this seemingly accidental collaboration came about. It is said that Rockstar contacted Liotta's agent and offered "a substantial fee" to invite him to participate in about four days of voice recording work. "We had dinner with him the night before the collaboration began, and then worked with him in New York for two days," Houser explained. A few months later, close to the game's official release, Houser traveled to Los Angeles to record additional lines with him. "He didn't seem to be in good spirits or very enthusiastic when he arrived on the first day, but on the second day, he walked into the studio and finished recording Everythinggj in about five hours."
"His performance was just incredible," Houser continued. "He gave Tommy a sense of realism that I don't think anyone else could have achieved."