GTA 5's Steve Haines actor auditioned for 60+ GTA VI roles and heard nothing back
Robert Bogue, the voice and face of FIB agent Steve Haines, says he tried out for more than 60 GTA VI characters, got none of them and never got a single call back from Rockstar.
Sixty. Robert Bogue says he auditioned for more than 60 characters in GTA VI. Big roles, tiny roles, he didn't care which. He got none of them, and nobody ever came back to him about any of them. Not a yes, not a no. Nothing.
You know Bogue even if the name doesn't ring a bell. He played FIB agent Steve Haines in GTA 5, and his Rockstar history goes way back: Red Harlow in Red Dead Revolver, Troy in The Ballad of Gay Tony, and GamesRadar+ also puts Red Dead Redemption on his list. This isn't some random guy who sent in a tape.
The whole thing surfaced through Instagram DMs with X user Burak, who reposted the messages on X. In IGN's version, Bogue says he "so badly wanted to work on GTA VI" and that he "must've auditioned for over 60 characters." He also wondered out loud whether Rockstar has "an unofficial policy where they don't reuse actors", and compared the whole experience to getting dumped by someone he loved.
Then came the follow-up, passed on through Burak, and it's the most human part of the story:
"I'm sorry to throw Rockstar under the bus publicly about how many auditions I've had, but the truth is the truth. At the end of the day, the actor's life is about rejection. It's just, sometimes you need a victory once in a while."
GamesRadar+ says it checked the quotes with Bogue directly. He told them rejection comes with the job and that what he really wants people to hear is how much he enjoyed working with Rockstar over the years. Their quote: "Some of the producers I worked with are still there, and so are several directors whom I have a great deal of respect for. I really wanted to be part of GTA VI, but they turned me down." Note that the two outlets word his messages differently, so I'm keeping each quote with the site that ran it.
And before anyone starts sliding into his DMs for leaks: forget it. IGN says Bogue told Burak he knows nothing about the game beyond what's already public. GamesRadar+ quotes him saying all he has are "small details I picked up from the script excerpts I read during the auditions." That's it. No secret map, no story dump. Leave the man alone.
Is there an "unofficial policy"? Nobody knows, and Rockstar hasn't commented. What we do know is that Rockstar and its actors have a history. IGN points to Ned Luke saying his lines were cut from a small role in Red Dead Redemption 2, Michael Hollick saying he got $100,000 for 15 months of work as Niko Bellic in GTA 4, and Ray Liotta criticising the pay on Vice City. GamesRadar+ adds Dan Houser's past talk about a falling-out with Burt Reynolds. Oh, and GTA 5 fans know , so maybe a comeback was never on the cards anyway.
My take? Casting is brutal and nobody is owed a role. But sixty auditions and not even a polite "thanks, but no"? That's cold, even for Rockstar. GamesRadar+ says GTA VI is set for November, with an extended look due later this month. Plenty of time, Rockstar. A two-line email costs you nothing.
