Ned Luke, the actor who portrayed Michael De Santa in Grand Theft Auto V, recently showcased around 3,500 pages of production script materials. These documents correspond solely to Michael's character and do not represent the game's complete script.
In a new episode of the podcast The Final Mission, Luke revealed that he gradually collected these paper materials over approximately three years of work. Rob Borg, who played Steve Haines, and Julian Gamble, who played Dave Norton, also disclosed that game scenes were not recorded in story order, with significant gaps sometimes occurring between different recording sessions.
Actors received their lines in batches, making it difficult for them to determine where their characters stood in the storyline. The three-protagonist structure further increased the game's recording and text workload.
Rockstar implemented multiple confidentiality measures to prevent content leaks. The project used "Paradise" as its codename in files, while the name Luke saw during his audition was "Rush." Each page of the script also featured watermarks traceable to individuals. Borg recalled encountering strong winds on the streets of New York, which scattered the 25 pages of the script he was carrying; he only managed to recover three pages and feared he might lose his job as a result.