Shawn Fonteno Biography: Age, Height, Career, Net Worth
Shawn Darnell Fonteno popularly known as Solo, is an American rapper and actor. He became more popular after playing the role of Franklin Clinton in the video game Grand Theft Auto V. Fonteno also appeared in the film, The Wash. He has played roles in films and re-enacted roles in the game. Fonteno published a memoir in 2022. He is the older cousin of American rapper Young Maylay, who played Carl “CJ” Johnson, the protagonist in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Early life
Shawn was born on 8 April 1968, in South Los Angeles, California, USA. His zodiac sign is Aries. He was raised in Watts, Los Angeles by his father, Thomas Fonteno. He attended Locke High School. Fonteno joined an African-American gang until he was nearly fatally shot. The traumatic experience led to him leaving the African-American gang and turning his life. While in the gang, Fonteno stole cars, sold drugs and was a thief. Currently, he is living in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fonteno has been in some movies throughout his career. In 1996, he played a role in “Dead Homiez,” “3 Strikes” in 2000, as Face in 2001’s “Wash”, and as Bam in 2017’s “Grow House.” He was also a member of Kam Solo, a rap group associated with Ice Cube’s Lench Mob Crew.
Video Gaming
Although Fonteno is popularly known for voicing smart street gangster Franklin Clinton in “Grand Theft Auto V”, which earned over $1 billion, Fonteno also voiced in “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” in 2004 as an unnamed Grove Street Families member.
DJ Pooh, a Fonteno’s friend and consultant for “GTA V,” asked him to be part of Rockstar’s newest video game. Pooh wrote and co-produced “GTA: San Andreas”, but he played Red in the film “Friday.” Initially, Shawn helped look for actors to play Franklin and helped them with their auditions, but he decided to take up the role himself after a few weeks. Once he got used to the tight-fitting outfits, Shawn quickly fell into the character thanks to his past as a gang-banger and drug dealer.
In 2010, Shawn got together with Steven Ogg and Ned Luke, and the trio spent nearly three years voice acting and performing the motion capture for the game. They would record in voiceover booths and “film” in a studio.
They found the unusual process challenging initially, as the motion capture suits were uncomfortable, and the sets were often not wholly built or fully functional. Shawn also felt slightly insecure about his acting skills, as his last role was in “The Wash” film in 2001.
In his interview with USA Today, he further described the filming process: ‘It’s just conditioning yourself to imagine what’s going on… close your eyes and imagine acting inside a real living room.’ He said that he hoped his performance in “GTA V” would lead to more roles in coming years, and both Steven and Ned stated that acting in the game reignited their love for the art.
Thankfully all of their dedication and hard work paid off as the game made $1 billion within its first three days, and the trio could barely speak in public without their voices being recognized. The “GTA V” cast was nominated for Best Vocal Ensemble 2014 in a Video Game at the Behind the Voice Actors Awards.
In 2020, Fonteno posted a video to social media, in which he pleaded for GTA fans to have patience with Rockstar Games’ eventual “Grand Theft Auto VI” release. He explained that the process is very long and complicated, especially as it’s presumably going to be a multiplayer game. In the video, Fonteno asked them not to ‘knock Rockstar down, man.’
He also said that the “GTA V” development took more than four years – longer than most fans may have realised, ‘Y’all gotta understand, it’s a process to put these games out.’ Although Rockstar has not officially announced “GTA VI,” “GTA V” launched in 2013, and fans’ are impatiently anticipating the sequel.
Thanks to the fans’ excitement, there is a lot of online hype and conspiracies about “GTA VI.” Most of the game’s leaks suggest that it takes place in Vice City – a location that has not been in the franchise for almost 20 years. Following Lazlow Jones’ announcement that he left Rockstar, his radio DJ character’s future is currently unknown.
In 2018, Rockstar launched what became another massive hit, “Red Dead Redemption 2.” They haven’t released another game since, and are yet to confirm any more release dates for upcoming games. However, there are several rumours that a “Red Dead Redemption” sequel might come out in 2021 or 2022.
Rockstar is planning on releasing a next-gen version of “GTA Online” and “GTA V”, as the games are still popular, so with these versions in the pipeline, a sequel is likely not the production’s priority. Still, with luck, Shawn’s explanation video was enough to calm GTA fans’ impatience, as Rockstar works on the long and complicated task of completing the sequel.
Furthermore, Shawn’s video hopefully also convinced fans that the Rockstar team is not milking “GTA”, and is listening to their requests and doing their best to bring it to fruition.
Married To Bridgette Johnson
Growing House actor Fonteno has a lovely wife, Bridgette Johnson. The beautiful couple tied up on November 2, 1996, with a grand celebration. They married in the presence of their family members, close friends and coworkers. The couple is happily living with their daughter. We can see their togetherness and happiness on various social media platforms. The couple is blessed with one beautiful daughter named Bria Fonteno. Fonteno and Johnson welcomed their daughter, Bria on August 19, 2019.
About Franklin Clinton: Virtual Character
The character of Franklin, Grand Theft V voiced by Fonteno. Talking about his role in video games, he is a criminal who steals cars and other valuable things.
He was born in Los Santos and started his criminal activities there. He desired to be richer and more powerful, which he completed after meeting Michael, one of the popular characters. After that, he also becomes friends with Trevor.
Suppose you want to know more about Franklin Clinton. In that case, you can play the popular video game ”Grand Theft V.” Fonteno’s Contribution To Grand Theft V. Fonteno got into prominence after giving the voice to Franklin Clinton, the main protagonist in Grand Theft Auto V. It is an action game of 2013 by Rockstar North.
Fonteno’s character in Grand Theft is one of the three main characters. In this video game, Franklin has a best friend Lamar Davis and a dog named Chop The other two main characters are Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips, voiced by Ned Luke and Steven Ogg. Yasha Jackson has also provided the voice in GTA V.
Career as an Actor
Fonteno is a popular African-American actor who has appeared in many hit films. He used to be a great actor before being a voice artist. Fonteno has undoubtedly given many successful films throughout his acting career Grow House, The Wash, and 3 Strikes are some films where he has appeared. He is famous for his perfect acting; besides providing his voice in Grand Theft V., all his movies have a good Rating.
A documentary was also produced on Shawn Fonteno which is available on YouTube. On Aug 2, 2014, the channel 90s Hip Hop uploaded a story (documentary) of Shawn Fonteno Antos. The documentary includes his personal information, past life, role in GTA V, and suffering during his career. Besides that, there is much information about Fonteno. The story of Fonteno Shawn has more than 2.6 Million views and is 8 minutes long.
He gained great fame for his role as Franklin Clinton, Fonteno has his book called A Game Changer. This book includes his role and journey in various popular games. The author of this book is Yusuf Jah, Game Changer is available in various markets as well and we can also find this book on Amazon. The book contains the biography of Shawn Fonteno.
Social Media
Fonteno has an Instagram account with the username.@solo11&. On his Instagram, he has more than 419K followers. Similarly, on Twitter, he has more than 55K followers. His Twitter account is.@Shawn Fonteno. Furthermore, his Instagram and Twitter accounts are verified, and he joined Twitter in July 2013.
Physical Appearances
Popular actor Shawn Fonteno has a height of 5 feet 8 inches (178cm) and his weight is around 60 kg (132 lbs). Fonteno is a handsome guy who has black hair, fair skin tone and brown eyes. He also wears caps to put swag on his personality since he is a hip-hop rapper. He has a moustache and a short beard, which makes him look more handsome and gentlemanly. People loved his good physique and cute smile.
He is a tattoo lover. He has a flower tattoo on his left hand, whereas his right-hand tattoo is still behind the curtain. You can see his tattoos via Instagram and Twitter.
