Is the Internet Closing in on GTA 6's Lucia?
Rockstar Games' battle against the internet's detectives is similar to when an immovable force meets an unstoppable object.
Just like with previous Grand Theft Auto entries, especially Grand Theft Auto V, the internet is turning over every digital rock as cybersleuths try to find out the identity behind the voices behind the game's lead protagonists.
This time, most of the attention is on the actress playing Lucia, one-half of the upcoming GTA game's criminal protagonists. Several names have been floated over the past few years, especially after it was all but confirmed that GTA 6 will feature a female protagonist following last year's leaks. The search intensified after the official GTA 6 trailer reveal earlier this month, which, by the way, continues to break and set new records.
Among the different names that the internet previously thought were playing Lucia are Alexandra C. Echavarri Lecároz, Leslie Lluvet, Natalie Morales, and Eva Mendes. But, now, it appears that fans have found enough proof to shortlist two leading candidates: Manni L. Perez and Ana Esposito.
As always, the source of this speculative information is Reddit. In Perez's case, the guesswork started when someone pointed out the facial similarities between Perez and Lucia. Others then started claiming their voice sound the same. Finally, an interview with Perez in 2021 revealed she was working on a big mystery project.
In the same interview, one of the interviewers brought up Grand Theft Auto, which, according to some observers, led to a noticeable shift in Perez's mood. As others would say, it seemed as if Perez's stomach dropped at that moment.
Now, this would only happen if Perez had signed a Non-disclosure Agreement with Rockstar Games. This would mean that she's legally obligated to avoid talking about her upcoming role in GTA 6, much less hint at it.
Roger Clark, the voice actor behind Arthur Morgan revealed during GLHF's Game & Fortune podcast that one of his co-stars, Benjamin Byron Davis, the voice of Dutch van der Linde, compared his NDA with his good friend, Chris Pratt. Apparently, Rockstar's NDA was more ironclad in comparison to Marvel's.
When you consider how secretive Marvel is when it comes to their NDAs — they're known to withhold information even from lead actors during filming — it's highly unlikely that slip-ups will happen.
So, what about Esposito?
It's the same story, except for the interview. In fact, Esposito maintains little internet presence outside of her Backstage page, which is surprising.
As an actress, her social media presence is vital to her career. If her prospective employers and casting agents can't look her up easily, how would they hire her? The only reason why she'd go out of her way to go off conventional social media platforms is if she has signed an NDA. Apparently, it's par for the course for Rockstar's voice actors to go off the internet grid until the game comes out.
Considering Esposito has gone incognito since 2019, which is probably when production of GTA 6 started ramping up, it makes sense why she's seen as one of the leading "suspects" as Lucia's voice actress.
Ultimately, there's no hard proof that either Perez or Esposito is Lucia in GTA 6. The worst part is we likely won't find out for at least two years. But, if it's any consolation, the resemblance is noteworthy.
With 2025 still quite a ways away, it's best to enjoy the ride and let the internet be.
Of course, if you prefer to keep yourself busy, you might want to buy yourself a copy of GTA 5 already if you're playing it on Game Pass since July since it could be leaving Microsoft's subscription service by month's end.
