Как пишется нико беллик на английском

This article is about the video game character. For the rapper, see Niko B.

Niko Bellic is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of Rockstar North’s 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, the sixth main instalment in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series. He also makes non-playable appearances in the game’s episodic content The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both released in 2009. Michael Hollick provided the character’s voice and motion capture.

Niko Bellic
Grand Theft Auto character
Promotional artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV depicting Niko Bellic
First appearance	Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Last appearance	Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
Created by	Rockstar North
Voiced by	Michael Hollick
Motion capture	Michael Hollick Sam Glen Bas Rutten Amir Perets Mario D’Leon
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Soldier (formerly) Human trafficker (formerly) Hitman (formerly) Taxi driver
Fighting style	Krav Maga
Family	Milica Bellic (mother) Roman Bellic (cousin) Mallorie Bardas-Bellic (cousin-in-law)
Significant others	Karen Daniels / Michelle Kate McReary
Origin	Eastern Europe

Within the game’s storyline, Niko is an ex-soldier from Eastern Europe, who was shaped by his experiences in an unidentified war he fought in, developing a very cynical view on life. After becoming involved with a Russian crime syndicate, and discovering that his unit was sold out to enemy forces, he decides to move to Liberty City to pursue the American Dream, inspired by his cousin Roman’s personal tales of luxury and riches that he had experienced while living there for the past decade. However, upon his arrival, he discovers that those stories were greatly exaggerated, and attempts to improve his and Roman’s financial situation by becoming involved with the local criminal underworld. As the game’s story progresses, Niko works for various prominent fictional crime figures, in the hopes of finding the traitor who betrayed his unit during the war, while slowly learning to let go of his past and quest for revenge, and attempting to leave the criminal life that comes with major risks.

Niko’s character received critical acclaim for his maturity, moral ambiguity, and personal growth, and has been frequently called the best protagonist in the series. For his role, Hollick won Best Performance by a Human Male at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards.

NationalityEdit

BiographyEdit

CharacteristicsEdit

Other appearancesEdit

ReceptionEdit

ReferencesEdit

This article is about the video game character. For the rapper, see Niko B.

Niko Bellic
Grand Theft Auto character
Promotional artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV depicting Niko Bellic
First appearance	Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Last appearance	Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
Created by	Rockstar North
Voiced by	Michael Hollick
Motion capture	Michael Hollick Sam Glen Bas Rutten Amir Perets Mario D’Leon
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Soldier (formerly) Human trafficker (formerly) Hitman (formerly) Taxi driver
Fighting style	Krav Maga
Family	Milica Bellic (mother) Roman Bellic (cousin) Mallorie Bardas-Bellic (cousin-in-law)
Significant others	Karen Daniels / Michelle Kate McReary
Origin	Eastern Europe

Niko Bellic is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of Rockstar North’s 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, the sixth main instalment in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series. He also makes non-playable appearances in the game’s episodic content The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both released in 2009. Michael Hollick provided the character’s voice and motion capture.

Within the game’s storyline, Niko is an ex-soldier from Eastern Europe, who was shaped by his experiences in an unidentified war he fought in, developing a very cynical view on life. After becoming involved with a Russian crime syndicate, and discovering that his unit was sold out to enemy forces, he decides to move to Liberty City to pursue the American Dream, inspired by his cousin Roman’s personal tales of luxury and riches that he had experienced while living there for the past decade. However, upon his arrival, he discovers that those stories were greatly exaggerated, and attempts to improve his and Roman’s financial situation by becoming involved with the local criminal underworld. As the game’s story progresses, Niko works for various prominent fictional crime figures, in the hopes of finding the traitor who betrayed his unit during the war, while slowly learning to let go of his past and quest for revenge, and attempting to leave the criminal life that comes with major risks.

Niko’s character received critical acclaim for his maturity, moral ambiguity, and personal growth, and has been frequently called the best protagonist in the series. For his role, Hollick won Best Performance by a Human Male at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards.

Nationality[edit]

Niko’s nationality is unspecified in the game and is subject to debate.^[1] It was believed by some that he was Russian, Serbian, or Croatian.^[2][3][4] Executive producer Sam Houser spoke on the matter, saying that Niko is «from that grey part of broken-down Eastern Europe», suggesting that Niko’s nationality was left intentionally vague or to the interpretation of the player.^[5] Following the game’s release, several journalists referred to Niko as Serbian.^[6][7][8][9] In the game, it is suggested by his cousin Roman that Niko can speak Serbian.^[10]

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Niko was born to Milica Bellic and an unnamed father in an unspecified country in Eastern Europe. Milica, a maternal and caring presence in Niko’s life, regrets that her sons have been forced to endure the hardships they did as children, including their abusive, alcoholic father. As a teenager, Niko participated in an unnamed war as an infantryman, tank operator, and helicopter pilot, during which he witnessed numerous atrocities that traumatised him, leading to his cynical view on life. After his unit of fifteen men from his village were ambushed by the enemy, Niko escaped and concluded that the unit had been betrayed by one of their own soldiers. He later learned that there are two other survivors, Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, and vowed to search for the traitor.

After the war, Niko experienced difficulty leading a normal life, and his brother was killed in action. Knowing only violence, Niko turned to the Balkanic criminal underworld. He joined a smuggling and trafficking ring run by Russian crime lord Ray Bulgarin. During one smuggling run into Italy, the boat that Niko was working on sank in the Adriatic Sea.^[11] He was able to swim to safety, but Bulgarin accused him of sinking the ship intentionally to escape with the money. Niko later joined the merchant navy to flee from Bulgarin, befriended the crew of the Platypus cargo ship, and contemplated his cousin Roman’s requests for him to come to Liberty City in the United States.^[12]

Arriving in Liberty City[edit]

Once in Liberty City in 2008, Niko quickly realises that Roman’s stories of success were exaggerated. In reality, his cousin lives in a small, decrepit apartment in the Broker district,^[13] and owes gambling debts across the city, which he struggles to pay through his unprofitable taxi service.^{[14][15][16][17]} In addition to working for Roman as a cab driver, Niko must protect him from loan sharks and work for Russian gangster Vlad Glebov to prevent Roman from sinking further into debt. Niko completes most of the jobs he is given with ease, as his military skills give him an advantage over the street thugs of Liberty City.^[18][19] During this time, he also begins making criminal contacts that will eventually become important allies,^[20] such as Yardie underboss Little Jacob and car entrepreneur Brucie Kibbutz. Niko’s professional and personal relationships expand over the course of the game, as he is introduced to more powerful and influential criminals.^[21]

After Niko kills Vlad as revenge for sleeping with Roman’s long-time girlfriend Mallorie, he and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin. Not bothered by Vlad’s murder, Faustin releases them and later employs Niko as a hitman. Niko quickly discovers Faustin’s true nature after being ordered to kill the son of powerful Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Faustin’s deputy Dimitri Rascalov convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin to make amends, but later betrays him by bringing him before Ray Bulgarin, revealed to be an old friend of Dimitri’s, who demands what he is owed. With Little Jacob’s help, Niko survives the ambush, but Dimitri and Bulgarin later retaliate by burning down Roman’s apartment and cab depot.

Searching for the traitor and further criminal ventures[edit]

Forced to move to the Bohan district and lay low for a while, Niko begins making new criminal contacts, including several drug dealers and the Irish mob, for whom he begins working in an effort to secure a better life and locate Florian, who Niko knows also lives in Liberty City. In the process, he befriends Irish gangster Patrick McReary, and discovers that his girlfriend Michelle is an undercover government agent actually named Karen, who entraps Niko into working for her agency, known only by its cover: the United Liberty Paper (ULP). Niko assassinates several known or suspected terrorists for the agency in exchange for clearing his criminal record and assistance in finding the man who betrayed his unit.

After assisting Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino Crime Family with an important diamond deal, Niko finally locates Florian, now the flamboyant homosexual Bernie Crane, only to discover he is not the traitor. He then sets off to find Darko, now revealed as the one who betrayed their unit, while continuing to work for the Italian Mafia in Liberty City, including the Pegorino and Gambetti families. While helping Patrick trade Don Giovanni Ancelotti’s kidnapped daughter for the diamonds, Niko crosses paths with Bulgarin again, whose interference in the exchange results in the diamonds’ loss.

During this time, Niko’s conflict with Dimitri escalates as the former rescues Roman after he is kidnapped by Dimitri’s men, thwarts his plot to blackmail Liberty City’s deputy mayor, and disrupts his drug operations while working for the Mafia. Niko and Roman eventually secure the lifestyle they sought after the latter rebuilds his taxi company and buys a new apartment in Algonquin using insurance money from his formerly destroyed business.

Tying up loose ends[edit]

Eventually, the ULP locates Darko and brings him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Having achieved closure on his past, Niko is summoned by Don Jimmy Pegorino for one final favour: to help with an extremely lucrative deal on heroin in collusion with Dimitri. After learning where Dimitri is, however, Niko is left to choose between exacting revenge on him or going through with the deal.^[22]

The former scenario sees Niko successfully killing Dimitri and his men,^[23] only for Pegorino, enraged at losing out on a substantial profit, to try and exact revenge on him at Roman and Mallorie’s wedding. Pegorino performs a drive-by attack on Niko, but accidentally kills Patrick’s sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating.^[24] Little Jacob and Roman help Niko find and kill Pegorino, who by this point was targeted by most of the Liberty City underworld.^[25] If Niko instead agrees to work with Dimitri again, the latter betrays him by keeping the heroin for himself,^[26] and sending a hitman to murder him at Roman and Mallorie’s wedding. Niko survives the attempt on his life, but the hitman accidentally kills Roman with a stray bullet.^[24] With Little Jacob’s help, the vengeful and devastated Niko tracks down and kills Dimitri, who in turn murdered Pegorino.^[27]

Depending on the ending chosen, Niko is later informed by Mallorie or Roman that the former is pregnant. He either vows to protect the child and become a father figure for them, or is told by Roman that the couple have decided to name their child in Kate’s memory, should it be a girl. Either way, the game ends with Niko musing on the American Dream and concluding that it is a hollow promise, which no one can truly achieve.

Later life[edit]

In Grand Theft Auto V, set in 2013, Lester Crest briefly refers to «an Eastern European making moves in Liberty City» who «went quiet», implying Niko left his life of crime behind. If selected as a crew member for a heist, Patrick, who has moved to Los Santos some time after the events of Grand Theft Auto IV, will mention Niko by name while talking about a bank robbery they carried out together; Patrick claims that he has not heard from Niko since he left Liberty City and that the latter is «probably dead». An Easter egg in the game reveals that Niko still works for Roman’s taxi company, and an in-game social media post indicates that the latter is alive.^[28]

Characteristics[edit]

Niko is portrayed as a down-to-business man with a volatile temper. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humour, and often makes acerbic remarks. Though he regrets his past crimes, he feels that his soul is permanently tainted, and that killing is all he can do. Niko appears to be a more mature, empathetic, and sensible person than many of his acquaintances. His female acquaintances often point out that Niko has sophisticated manners and appears to be a very courteous person. Many times he attempts to resolve conflicts between two parties without the use of violence.

The most significant aspect of Niko’s personality is his cynicism, which he gained in the war.^[29][30] Although generally he is a caring individual, Niko’s realistic view of life allows him the ability to manipulate people. Niko’s biggest weakness is his inability to let go of the past, and the desire for revenge is a driving force in many of his decisions. Despite his long involvement with criminal activity, Niko holds a somewhat sympathetic view of law enforcement, stating that cops are just people trying to survive. Near the end of the game, Niko expresses a desire to move on from his criminal past and get a fresh start. Niko has a distaste for drugs, despite his frequent involvement in the drugs trade, and regularly refuses offers of marijuana by Little Jacob.

Portrayal[edit]

Niko Bellic is voiced by Michael Hollick.^[31] Hollick was paid about $100,000 for his voice acting and motion-capture work over the course of about 15 months from 2006 to 2007. Hollick was paid about $1,050 a day for his work on the game, about 50% more than the standard Screen Actors Guild-negotiated rate for actors, although he claimed it was still a fraction of the income he would receive from a film or TV-show performance, and that he was upset about not getting residuals from game sales, putting the blame on the union for not securing such agreements.^[32] Hollick told The New York Times that while he was a theatre student at Carnegie Mellon University he developed a talent for dialects.^{[32][33][34][35]}

Actor and former mixed martial artist Bas Rutten performed the motion capture for Niko’s fighting scenes;^[36] he worked on the game for over a year, and brought mixed martial artist Amir Perets for additional work.^[37] Niko’s fighting style is primarily Krav Maga.^[38][39]

Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov claims he was in discussions with Rockstar Games to voice the character, and that the character’s appearance is based on him, specifically from his role of the Tracker, Sasha Ivanic, in the 2001 movie Behind Enemy Lines, but he ultimately turned down the offer.^[40] Rockstar Games have not commented on Mashkov’s claims.

Other appearances[edit]

Niko plays a minor role in both of Grand Theft Auto IV‘s expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (both 2009), which take place simultaneously with the storyline of the base game, from the perspective of characters with minor roles in GTA IV‘s narrative.^[41] He appears as an NPC in the missions that cross over with the base game.

Niko is mentioned several times in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), indirectly by Lester Crest, who, when planning a jewellery store robbery alongside protagonist Michael De Santa, considers «an Eastern European guy making moves in Liberty City» as a possible accomplice, before dismissing the idea, claiming that he «went quiet». If selected as a crew member for «The Paleto Score», Patrick McReary will talk about the bank heist he, Niko, his brother Derrick, and accomplice Michael Keane carried out in Liberty City, mentioning how the latter two are dead and that Niko is probably dead as well, as he hasn’t heard from him in the past five years. As an Easter egg in the game, players can view Niko’s LifeInvader profile, which reveals that he is still working for Roman’s taxi company. Niko’s latest message to his cousin is wishing him a happy birthday; this implies that Roman survived the game’s events.^[28]

In the «Collector’s Edition» of Grand Theft Auto Online, players can choose what their character is to look like by selecting between different parents; Niko is one of the special parents available, meaning that players can select Niko so that their character has a level of resemblance to him.^[42][43]

Reception[edit]

Niko’s character has been well received by both critics and fans. He was voted as the 14th top character of the 2000s decade by readers of Game Informer.^[44] In 2008, The Age ranked Niko as the second greatest Xbox character of all time, as «few characters in video game history have provided us with such a spectrum of emotions. Niko’s tale is such a roller coaster ride that by the climax you’d be forgiven for feeling exhausted and perhaps even a little numb.»^[45] IGN’s Hilary Goldstein commented «Niko’s struggles with his ruthless nature never inhibit the gameplay, but instead enhance the emotional gravity of a brilliant storyline. The more absurd the action becomes, the greater we feel the very real pathos of Niko Bellic.»^[46] Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer opined Niko «himself is quickly sympathetic — his moral latitude is rooted in horrible war stories, but he’s warm-hearted — and imposing.»^[47] GameDaily included him in a top 25 list of video game anti-heroes, stating that he has a heart-of-gold beneath his rough exterior.^[48] In another article, GameDaily listed the «scary foreigner» as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using Niko as an example of this due to his «European thug» appearance.^[49] They also used him as an example for the «walking stereotype» archetype.^[50] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition voted Niko as the 13th-top video game character of all time.^[51] GamesRadar staff ranked Niko Bellic 97th place in a list of the 100 best heroes in video games, published in 2013.^[52] Yahtzee Croshaw of Zero Punctuation found Niko to be an improvement over previous GTA protagonists, regarding him as «a very human, very relatable character who could still believably lose his mind.»^[53]

References[edit]

This article is about the video game character. For the rapper, see Niko B.

Niko Bellic
Grand Theft Auto character
Promotional artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV depicting Niko Bellic
First appearance	Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Last appearance	Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
Created by	Rockstar North
Voiced by	Michael Hollick
Motion capture	Michael Hollick Sam Glen Bas Rutten Amir Perets Mario D’Leon
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Soldier (formerly) Human trafficker (formerly) Hitman (formerly) Taxi driver
Fighting style	Krav Maga
Family	Milica Bellic (mother) Roman Bellic (cousin) Mallorie Bardas-Bellic (cousin-in-law)
Significant others	Karen Daniels / Michelle Kate McReary
Origin	Eastern Europe

Niko Bellic is a fictional character and the playable protagonist of Rockstar North’s 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV, the sixth main instalment in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series. He also makes non-playable appearances in the game’s episodic content The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, both released in 2009. Michael Hollick provided the character’s voice and motion capture.

Within the game’s storyline, Niko is an ex-soldier from Eastern Europe, who was shaped by his experiences in an unidentified war he fought in, developing a very cynical view on life. After becoming involved with a Russian crime syndicate, and discovering that his unit was sold out to enemy forces, he decides to move to Liberty City to pursue the American Dream, inspired by his cousin Roman’s personal tales of luxury and riches that he had experienced while living there for the past decade. However, upon his arrival, he discovers that those stories were greatly exaggerated, and attempts to improve his and Roman’s financial situation by becoming involved with the local criminal underworld. As the game’s story progresses, Niko works for various prominent fictional crime figures, in the hopes of finding the traitor who betrayed his unit during the war, while slowly learning to let go of his past and quest for revenge, and attempting to leave the criminal life that comes with major risks.

Niko’s character received critical acclaim for his maturity, moral ambiguity, and personal growth, and has been frequently called the best protagonist in the series. For his role, Hollick won Best Performance by a Human Male at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards.

Nationality[edit]

Niko’s nationality is unspecified in the game and is subject to debate.^[1] It was believed by some that he was Russian, Serbian, or Croatian.^[2][3][4] Executive producer Sam Houser spoke on the matter, saying that Niko is «from that grey part of broken-down Eastern Europe», suggesting that Niko’s nationality was left intentionally vague or to the interpretation of the player.^[5] Following the game’s release, several journalists referred to Niko as Serbian.^[6][7][8][9] In the game, it is suggested by his cousin Roman that Niko can speak Serbian.^[10]

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Niko was born to Milica Bellic and an unnamed father in an unspecified country in Eastern Europe. Milica, a maternal and caring presence in Niko’s life, regrets that her sons have been forced to endure the hardships they did as children, including their abusive, alcoholic father. As a teenager, Niko participated in an unnamed war as an infantryman, tank operator, and helicopter pilot, during which he witnessed numerous atrocities that traumatised him, leading to his cynical view on life. After his unit of fifteen men from his village were ambushed by the enemy, Niko escaped and concluded that the unit had been betrayed by one of their own soldiers. He later learned that there are two other survivors, Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, and vowed to search for the traitor.

After the war, Niko experienced difficulty leading a normal life, and his brother was killed in action. Knowing only violence, Niko turned to the Balkanic criminal underworld. He joined a smuggling and trafficking ring run by Russian crime lord Ray Bulgarin. During one smuggling run into Italy, the boat that Niko was working on sank in the Adriatic Sea.^[11] He was able to swim to safety, but Bulgarin accused him of sinking the ship intentionally to escape with the money. Niko later joined the merchant navy to flee from Bulgarin, befriended the crew of the Platypus cargo ship, and contemplated his cousin Roman’s requests for him to come to Liberty City in the United States.^[12]

Arriving in Liberty City[edit]

Once in Liberty City in 2008, Niko quickly realises that Roman’s stories of success were exaggerated. In reality, his cousin lives in a small, decrepit apartment in the Broker district,^[13] and owes gambling debts across the city, which he struggles to pay through his unprofitable taxi service.^{[14][15][16][17]} In addition to working for Roman as a cab driver, Niko must protect him from loan sharks and work for Russian gangster Vlad Glebov to prevent Roman from sinking further into debt. Niko completes most of the jobs he is given with ease, as his military skills give him an advantage over the street thugs of Liberty City.^[18][19] During this time, he also begins making criminal contacts that will eventually become important allies,^[20] such as Yardie underboss Little Jacob and car entrepreneur Brucie Kibbutz. Niko’s professional and personal relationships expand over the course of the game, as he is introduced to more powerful and influential criminals.^[21]

After Niko kills Vlad as revenge for sleeping with Roman’s long-time girlfriend Mallorie, he and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin. Not bothered by Vlad’s murder, Faustin releases them and later employs Niko as a hitman. Niko quickly discovers Faustin’s true nature after being ordered to kill the son of powerful Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Faustin’s deputy Dimitri Rascalov convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin to make amends, but later betrays him by bringing him before Ray Bulgarin, revealed to be an old friend of Dimitri’s, who demands what he is owed. With Little Jacob’s help, Niko survives the ambush, but Dimitri and Bulgarin later retaliate by burning down Roman’s apartment and cab depot.

Searching for the traitor and further criminal ventures[edit]

Forced to move to the Bohan district and lay low for a while, Niko begins making new criminal contacts, including several drug dealers and the Irish mob, for whom he begins working in an effort to secure a better life and locate Florian, who Niko knows also lives in Liberty City. In the process, he befriends Irish gangster Patrick McReary, and discovers that his girlfriend Michelle is an undercover government agent actually named Karen, who entraps Niko into working for her agency, known only by its cover: the United Liberty Paper (ULP). Niko assassinates several known or suspected terrorists for the agency in exchange for clearing his criminal record and assistance in finding the man who betrayed his unit.

After assisting Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino Crime Family with an important diamond deal, Niko finally locates Florian, now the flamboyant homosexual Bernie Crane, only to discover he is not the traitor. He then sets off to find Darko, now revealed as the one who betrayed their unit, while continuing to work for the Italian Mafia in Liberty City, including the Pegorino and Gambetti families. While helping Patrick trade Don Giovanni Ancelotti’s kidnapped daughter for the diamonds, Niko crosses paths with Bulgarin again, whose interference in the exchange results in the diamonds’ loss.

During this time, Niko’s conflict with Dimitri escalates as the former rescues Roman after he is kidnapped by Dimitri’s men, thwarts his plot to blackmail Liberty City’s deputy mayor, and disrupts his drug operations while working for the Mafia. Niko and Roman eventually secure the lifestyle they sought after the latter rebuilds his taxi company and buys a new apartment in Algonquin using insurance money from his formerly destroyed business.

Tying up loose ends[edit]

Eventually, the ULP locates Darko and brings him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Having achieved closure on his past, Niko is summoned by Don Jimmy Pegorino for one final favour: to help with an extremely lucrative deal on heroin in collusion with Dimitri. After learning where Dimitri is, however, Niko is left to choose between exacting revenge on him or going through with the deal.^[22]

The former scenario sees Niko successfully killing Dimitri and his men,^[23] only for Pegorino, enraged at losing out on a substantial profit, to try and exact revenge on him at Roman and Mallorie’s wedding. Pegorino performs a drive-by attack on Niko, but accidentally kills Patrick’s sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating.^[24] Little Jacob and Roman help Niko find and kill Pegorino, who by this point was targeted by most of the Liberty City underworld.^[25] If Niko instead agrees to work with Dimitri again, the latter betrays him by keeping the heroin for himself,^[26] and sending a hitman to murder him at Roman and Mallorie’s wedding. Niko survives the attempt on his life, but the hitman accidentally kills Roman with a stray bullet.^[24] With Little Jacob’s help, the vengeful and devastated Niko tracks down and kills Dimitri, who in turn murdered Pegorino.^[27]

Depending on the ending chosen, Niko is later informed by Mallorie or Roman that the former is pregnant. He either vows to protect the child and become a father figure for them, or is told by Roman that the couple have decided to name their child in Kate’s memory, should it be a girl. Either way, the game ends with Niko musing on the American Dream and concluding that it is a hollow promise, which no one can truly achieve.

Later life[edit]

In Grand Theft Auto V, set in 2013, Lester Crest briefly refers to «an Eastern European making moves in Liberty City» who «went quiet», implying Niko left his life of crime behind. If selected as a crew member for a heist, Patrick, who has moved to Los Santos some time after the events of Grand Theft Auto IV, will mention Niko by name while talking about a bank robbery they carried out together; Patrick claims that he has not heard from Niko since he left Liberty City and that the latter is «probably dead». An Easter egg in the game reveals that Niko still works for Roman’s taxi company, and an in-game social media post indicates that the latter is alive.^[28]

Characteristics[edit]

Niko is portrayed as a down-to-business man with a volatile temper. He has a dry, sarcastic sense of humour, and often makes acerbic remarks. Though he regrets his past crimes, he feels that his soul is permanently tainted, and that killing is all he can do. Niko appears to be a more mature, empathetic, and sensible person than many of his acquaintances. His female acquaintances often point out that Niko has sophisticated manners and appears to be a very courteous person. Many times he attempts to resolve conflicts between two parties without the use of violence.

The most significant aspect of Niko’s personality is his cynicism, which he gained in the war.^[29][30] Although generally he is a caring individual, Niko’s realistic view of life allows him the ability to manipulate people. Niko’s biggest weakness is his inability to let go of the past, and the desire for revenge is a driving force in many of his decisions. Despite his long involvement with criminal activity, Niko holds a somewhat sympathetic view of law enforcement, stating that cops are just people trying to survive. Near the end of the game, Niko expresses a desire to move on from his criminal past and get a fresh start. Niko has a distaste for drugs, despite his frequent involvement in the drugs trade, and regularly refuses offers of marijuana by Little Jacob.

Portrayal[edit]

Niko Bellic is voiced by Michael Hollick.^[31] Hollick was paid about $100,000 for his voice acting and motion-capture work over the course of about 15 months from 2006 to 2007. Hollick was paid about $1,050 a day for his work on the game, about 50% more than the standard Screen Actors Guild-negotiated rate for actors, although he claimed it was still a fraction of the income he would receive from a film or TV-show performance, and that he was upset about not getting residuals from game sales, putting the blame on the union for not securing such agreements.^[32] Hollick told The New York Times that while he was a theatre student at Carnegie Mellon University he developed a talent for dialects.^{[32][33][34][35]}

Actor and former mixed martial artist Bas Rutten performed the motion capture for Niko’s fighting scenes;^[36] he worked on the game for over a year, and brought mixed martial artist Amir Perets for additional work.^[37] Niko’s fighting style is primarily Krav Maga.^[38][39]

Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov claims he was in discussions with Rockstar Games to voice the character, and that the character’s appearance is based on him, specifically from his role of the Tracker, Sasha Ivanic, in the 2001 movie Behind Enemy Lines, but he ultimately turned down the offer.^[40] Rockstar Games have not commented on Mashkov’s claims.

Other appearances[edit]

Niko plays a minor role in both of Grand Theft Auto IV‘s expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (both 2009), which take place simultaneously with the storyline of the base game, from the perspective of characters with minor roles in GTA IV‘s narrative.^[41] He appears as an NPC in the missions that cross over with the base game.

Niko is mentioned several times in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), indirectly by Lester Crest, who, when planning a jewellery store robbery alongside protagonist Michael De Santa, considers «an Eastern European guy making moves in Liberty City» as a possible accomplice, before dismissing the idea, claiming that he «went quiet». If selected as a crew member for «The Paleto Score», Patrick McReary will talk about the bank heist he, Niko, his brother Derrick, and accomplice Michael Keane carried out in Liberty City, mentioning how the latter two are dead and that Niko is probably dead as well, as he hasn’t heard from him in the past five years. As an Easter egg in the game, players can view Niko’s LifeInvader profile, which reveals that he is still working for Roman’s taxi company. Niko’s latest message to his cousin is wishing him a happy birthday; this implies that Roman survived the game’s events.^[28]

In the «Collector’s Edition» of Grand Theft Auto Online, players can choose what their character is to look like by selecting between different parents; Niko is one of the special parents available, meaning that players can select Niko so that their character has a level of resemblance to him.^[42][43]

Reception[edit]

Niko’s character has been well received by both critics and fans. He was voted as the 14th top character of the 2000s decade by readers of Game Informer.^[44] In 2008, The Age ranked Niko as the second greatest Xbox character of all time, as «few characters in video game history have provided us with such a spectrum of emotions. Niko’s tale is such a roller coaster ride that by the climax you’d be forgiven for feeling exhausted and perhaps even a little numb.»^[45] IGN’s Hilary Goldstein commented «Niko’s struggles with his ruthless nature never inhibit the gameplay, but instead enhance the emotional gravity of a brilliant storyline. The more absurd the action becomes, the greater we feel the very real pathos of Niko Bellic.»^[46] Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer opined Niko «himself is quickly sympathetic — his moral latitude is rooted in horrible war stories, but he’s warm-hearted — and imposing.»^[47] GameDaily included him in a top 25 list of video game anti-heroes, stating that he has a heart-of-gold beneath his rough exterior.^[48] In another article, GameDaily listed the «scary foreigner» as one of their top 25 video game archetypes, using Niko as an example of this due to his «European thug» appearance.^[49] They also used him as an example for the «walking stereotype» archetype.^[50] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition voted Niko as the 13th-top video game character of all time.^[51] GamesRadar staff ranked Niko Bellic 97th place in a list of the 100 best heroes in video games, published in 2013.^[52] Yahtzee Croshaw of Zero Punctuation found Niko to be an improvement over previous GTA protagonists, regarding him as «a very human, very relatable character who could still believably lose his mind.»^[53]

References[edit]

For other uses of the name Bellic, see Bellic.

     Spoiler Warning: Plot details, ending details, or both are in the text which follows.

Niko Bellic (Serbian: Нико Белић, Niko Belić) is the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV and a supporting character in The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. He is also mentioned by Lester Crest and Patrick McReary in Grand Theft Auto V. The player can choose Niko Bellic as their parent model in Grand Theft Auto Online.

Niko grew up in Yugoslavia, where he fought in the Yugoslav Wars. He later worked for organized crime syndicates as a hired-gun in Liberty City. Ever since the wars ended, Niko’s main goal in life was to find and kill one of two men: Florian Cravic or Darko Brevic, for one of them betrayed his military unit during the wars and nearly killed him. Niko is the younger cousin of Roman Bellic and the son of Milica Bellic.

Biography

Early life and family

Niko was born in Yugoslavia in 1978. It was implied that his father was an abusive alcoholic. His mother, Milica Bellic, was unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. In a conversation with Patrick McReary, Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Yugoslav Wars. According to the dialogue in the mission Taking in the Trash, Niko dreamed of becoming an astronaut when he was a child. In a conversation with Dwayne Forge, Niko mentions the house where he grew up in did not have electricity until he was twelve. In a conversation with Kate McReary, Niko says that he found out his aunt (Roman’s mother) was raped and murdered, some time after Roman’s departure to the United States. Knowing Roman would be even more devastated if he knew the true circumstances of his mother’s death, Niko covered up what happened, telling him that she died in a house fire.

Bosnian Wars

Niko grew up in the harsh environment of the Yugoslav Wars, and was a teenage soldier (The Yugoslav Wars were fought between 1991 and 2001, which means that Niko was only 13-23 years old at the time). Niko says that he was betrayed «ten years ago», making it closer to 1997 or 1998 (although Florian claims that it was «twelve or thirteen years ago» in a phone call after the mission That Special Someone). He served as a helicopter pilot and an infantryman during the war, and during the mission Easy Fare, Roman alludes to him driving a tank.

During the war, Niko both witnessed and committed numerous atrocities, which led to his cynical perspective on life, and a certain degree of regret, depression, and emotional detachment. Eventually, Niko’s unit of fifteen men (most of them friends from his hometown) were ambushed by enemy forces, but Darko Brevic, Florian Cravic, and Niko himself survived. Niko concluded that either Florian or Darko had sold the group out, and he vowed to uncover and kill the culprit, not only to gain revenge, but also to hopefully «close the book» on the incident and move on with his life.

Post-war life

Niko had trouble finding steady work after the war. Niko’s cousin, Roman, had already moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City while Niko spent the next decade working in the European criminal underworld, leading to a period of incarceration in a European penitentiary. After his release from prison, he began working for a human trafficking ring led by Ray Bulgarin. When a boat involved in the operation sank in the Adriatic Sea during a smuggling run into Italy, Niko swam to safety, but everything and everyone else was lost. Bulgarin believed that Niko had intentionally scuttled the ship and stole his money. Bulgarin’s reach was too great within Europe, so Niko joined the merchant navy to escape him. During Roman’s Sorrow, Niko reminds Roman of an occasion in Europe where they encountered a bar which had burned down and there was only one bottle of vodka left, so they sat down and finished it off.

Events of Grand Theft Auto IV

Niko spent seven months on the cargo ship Platypus, which eventually smuggled Niko into Liberty City.

During the game, Niko says he moved to Liberty City because he wanted a new life by living the American Dream, but when he does arrive in Liberty City, he has nothing except Roman. Niko parted ways with Hossan and the Platypus crew there, partly to reunite with his cousin, and partly to track down Florian Cravic, who had moved to Liberty City after the war. Roman had been boasting of great success in Liberty City, but in truth, his assets amounted to a small, gritty taxi depot and a rundown apartment, and he was saddled with heavy debts due to his gambling habit. Niko would assist Roman in his taxi business, and protect his cousin from the loan sharks who were harassing him. Roman’s connections eventually led to Niko making friends with Little Jacob, and taking work from the Russian Mafia, setting in motion the events of the game.

After killing Vladimir Glebov, Niko is spared by Mikhail Faustin, although Dimitri Rascalov wanted him and Roman killed. After killing Mikhail, Dimitri reveals his connections with Ray Bulgarin and turns against him, even trying to kill him. Niko and Roman flee Hove Beach when their apartment and Roman’s taxi depot were burned down. It is at this point that Niko becomes a hitman and an associate of many. Mallorie Bardas, Roman’s girlfriend, introduce him to two contacts, Manny Escuela and Elizabeta Torres. Niko develops affiliations and becomes a worker of the McReary Family, Playboy X, Dwayne Forge, and the Pegorino Family, to name a few, over the course of the game. In an attempt to lure Niko into an ambush, Dimitri kidnaps Roman, who is rescued by Niko.

Niko eventually becomes in forced contact with an International Affairs Agency front under the name of United Liberty Paper, who blackmails him into doing some «country-protecting» work. Also, Ray Boccino managed to help Niko find Florian Cravic. When Niko confronts him, Florian, who now calls himself Bernie Crane, begs for forgiveness and claims he is not only a homosexual but that he is not the one who betrayed Niko (despite escaping). Niko forgives him and actually begins helping Bernie with his life.

As a sign of gratitude towards Niko for his work with them, the U.L.P. locate Darko Brevic in Romania and smuggle him into Liberty City. Niko confronts Brevic, who confesses that he sold Niko’s army unit out for $1,000, which he used to fund his heroin addiction. Enraged at the fact his unit were betrayed for such a paltry sum, Niko holds Brevic at gunpoint. Whether Niko kills Brevic or not depends on the player’s actions.

After his confrontation with Brevic, Niko meets Jimmy Pegorino again. Pegorino asks Niko to do a heroin deal with Dimitri Rascalov. Niko is reluctant to do so, because of the bitterness between himself and Rascalov. The conclusion of the storyline depends on the player’s decision.

At the end of the game, a Weazel News report states that Niko is wanted for questioning by the police (although not as a suspect) for the events of his cousin’s wedding.

Niko’s immigrant status is uncertain and arouses the suspicion of the LCPD and FIB. Although Niko often protests that he «has his papers» while fleeing police, Roman says that Niko does not have a visa. This is further evidenced in a Liberty Tree article about the death of the Platypus’s captain, Zorba Philippidis, which states that none of the crew possess visas.

If Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend is played after Pest Control, Niko tells Packie that he intends to go after Ray Bulgarin, although Ray would be killed by Luis Lopez.

After the Events of Grand Theft Auto IV

If Niko chooses to do the deal with Dimitri, Niko most likely gives up his life of crime and stays close to his friends as they are there for him. Also, Niko says to Mallorie that her child will need not to worry about being fatherless, hinting Niko will help take care of her child and assume a fatherly role.

If Niko chooses to seek Revenge on Dimitri, Niko’s love interest, Kate is killed though he is still able to have a date such as Alexandra Chilton, Carmen Ortiz or Kiki Jenkins and keep in contact with his cousin and friends. He most likely gives up his life of crime and tries to live a normal one with Roman, as is hinted by the comments made about him in Grand Theft Auto V.

2013

Not much is known about Niko’s life during the events of Grand Theft Auto V. It is hinted that he has completely given up a life of crime, and has now retired. While setting up for the first heist, Lester Crest mentioned to Michael De Santa that he knew «an Eastern European guy making moves in Liberty City», but dismissed the idea as «he went quiet». This would hint that he’d continued his life as a career criminal for a few more years before leaving it, especially if he was able to gain such notoriety as recently as of 2013.

Later while on a heist, if Packie was chosen for the job, he begins talking about his most successful job in Liberty City, and then mentions Niko, revealing that he doesn’t even know what became of him, and that he is «probably dead». It is possible though that Niko has cut all ties to his previous criminal lifestyle and is retired.

Further Notes

If Michael survives the events of Grand Theft Auto V, one potential scenario in his house sees his family gathered around the dining room table. Jimmy, Michael’s son, is writing his résumé on a laptop.^[2] However, the screen displays a Lifeinvader profile page as an Easter egg.

By using a camera to zoom in, the page is revealed to be that of Niko Bellic, complete with an image of the character. He now lives in Broker, still working as a taxi driver for Bellic Cab Service, and is still in contact with Mallorie Bardas, Little Jacob, and Brucie Kibbutz, who all liked his latest status. There is also a Happy Birthday note for Roman which was dated as being posted 40 minutes prior. As Rockstar Games have officially stated that there are no «true paths» for the Grand Theft Auto IV‘s storyline, and it’s all determinant to the player, and this official stance was issued after the release of GTA V, Niko Bellic’s LifeInvader profile in GTA V (including Roman as a friend) is considered an Easter Egg. ^[3]

A wanted poster for Niko can be seen on the porch of a house just west of Sandy Shores. This is another Easter egg referencing the wanted posters included in the promotional material for Grand Theft Auto IV.

2017

In The Doomsday Heist update for Grand Theft Auto Online, Lester Crest briefly mentions Niko when he is talking about Agent ULP, who blackmailed Niko to work for him almost a decade ago.

2022

In The Criminal Enterprises update for Grand Theft Auto Online, Agent ULP briefly mentions Niko during Operation Paper Trail, though not by name, to the GTA Online Protagonist as a previous IAA hired «agent». During the same dialogue, ULP makes a reference to his own dialogue from the GTA IV mission Wrong is Right, telling the protagonist they «can’t always tell who the good guys are. I’m not a good guy. But I’m fighting with them».

Furthermore, after the GTA Online Protagonist’s final mission as a sworn-in IAA agent, they receive a final phone call from Agent ULP telling them they’re on their own from now on and wishing them the best, saying the exact same phrase as to Niko during his last phone call to him in the GTA IV mission That Special Someone – «You’re out. You’ve done good things for us, and we are greatful. From here in, you’re alone. Goodbye».

Overview

Appearance

Niko has brown hair and hazel eyes. He has facial hair that resembles a «scruffy» looking 5 o’clock shadow, which fits his ‘thug’ appearance very well. Niko isn’t as heavily muscled as Luis or Johnny and he’s more slender than both of them. Still, Niko has enough physical strength to hold his own in a fistfight and he’s capable of pulling himself up on a ledge after hanging by his straight arms. He is also strong enough to twist Brucie’s arm with ease. Several characters throughout the story call Niko «big guy» or «big man», which likely means that he is of tall stature and/or heavy build. Niko has a scar running through his left brow. He most likely got the scar during the war, however, this has not been confirmed. Niko’s body is of ‘average’ build, but characters like Bernie Crane mention that «Niko is still in great shape.» Later, Bernie asks if Niko works out, to which Niko answers he doesn’t work out but his dangerous lifestyle keeps him active. People consider him to be «above average» build despite his slender appearance. During his appearances in TLAD and TBoGT, Niko looks almost exactly the same, except that he no longer has dimples. In GTA Online as a parent model, he looks similar to his GTA IV counterpart, but he now has a buzz cut and wears a polo shirt which can also be purchased by the player in clothing shops.

Beta

In artworks and earlier screenshots, Niko had often been seen wearing finger-less gloves. The files still remain in the PC version and can only be used with an in-game trainer. Obtaining them in the game without modding is impossible. The reason why they have been removed from the final version of the game is unknown, but it is likely due to the fact that they are not very inconspicuous.

In early beta versions of GTA IV, Niko had slightly thicker hair and sometimes he can be seen with a buzz cut, neither of which appear in GTA IV, but still exist in the game files.

Personality and traits

From the beginning, It is clearly evident that Niko’s suffering from a quarter-life crisis. Having grown up in difficult conditions and witnessed the horrors of warfare, Niko in general feels frustrated, fatalistic, confused with his life’s direction, pessimistic, overwhelmed, unappreciated, cynical, and unfulfilled.

Niko is very protective of his family and loved ones, particularly his cousin Roman, whom Niko constantly has to worry about due to his gambling habit. Roman has an indiscreet nature of frequently getting the pair into trouble. He is withdrawn among strangers, but has good manners, and shows a softer side with love interests like Kate McReary and Michelle. That said, the horrors of war, both witnessed and perpetrated by Niko, have given him a great sense of guilt, and an ambivalence about the value of human life — he warns away pursuers and expresses regret over his past violence, but also feels that killing is all that he can do, readily taking on jobs which necessarily involve murder. Niko is prone to violence after being angered and he has an explosive temper when he is betrayed, manipulated, or his loyalty is questioned, but he is also quick to help the defenseless and unfortunate, even those he merely meets in passing; he apparently possesses a sense of idealism which was wounded by his wartime experiences. Unfortunately, such a split attitude leads to hypocrisy — Niko, for example, appears to genuinely sympathize with the McRearys’ grief over the demise of one of their brothers (either Derrick McReary or Francis McReary), despite having secretly committed that murder himself. This makes it highly possible that Niko is a pessimist.

Niko’s bitterness at the murder of his friends during the war has consumed him, and he is unable to let it go, taking on several highly dangerous jobs merely to enable his quest for vengeance. Several of his friends, most notably Roman, urge him to find a new reason to live, and there are many morality choices for Niko to emphasize his trait.

Niko’s business-like manner usually leads him to behave more maturely and cautiously than his acquaintances, although with acquaintances like Brucie Kibbutz, Bernie Crane and Roman, this is no surprise. He has an apparent distaste for illegal drugs, much like Carl Johnson and Victor Vance. He frequently turns down Little Jacob’s offers for marijuana and warns Packie about his cocaine habit. He also finds it distasteful to traffic in cocaine and particularly heroin, although this may be due to the heavy jail sentences they attract as much as any moral qualms. He is skeptical of American mainstream culture, which he sees as «shallow» and «hypocritical» and has trouble relating to Roman’s fascination with the country. However, he reasons that being in America is far better than back in Serbia due to the country’s instability and misery.

Niko also exhibits dislike for American conservative politicians, whom he considers to be hypocrites. An example is Bryce Dawkins, whom Niko says is a «bullshitter» for giving homophobic speeches and preaching about family values to gain political power when he himself is bisexual. However, a conversation between Niko and Kiki Jenkins reveals he considers himself neither liberal nor conservative, and that the war gave him a highly cynical view of politicians in general.

Niko has a certain degree of empathy for other people, even random strangers, and feels obliged to help others who cannot help themselves. Most missions involve Niko doing jobs for money, particularly one occasion. After meeting a troubled young girl, Marnie Allen, he even gives her some of his own money multiple times to help her out. He is also surprisingly calm when speaking to authority figures, even those as powerful as Francis McReary, who he simply asks for more money from, much to the disappointment and frustration of McReary. He is usually never emotionally disturbed by anyone besides Darko Brevic. He expresses disgust at Brevic’s drug addiction, and how he betrayed his army unit in exchange for drug money. If Niko kills Brevic, Niko will hesitate for a moment before unloading 12 shots (one for every member of Niko’s army unit who was killed) into Brevic’s body uncontrollably, even after Brevic’s death after about the sixth shot. The only other figure that has visibly disturbed Niko is Eddie Low, who Niko is understandably creeped out by. This can even horrify the player to an extent, such as when Low makes comments about all the people he has murdered in gruesome ways, or Low’s clinginess towards Niko for being his ‘friend’. During his encounters with Eddie, Niko’s eyebrows are raised and his mouth is open in disbelief. Otherwise, Niko’s face is usually very serious.

Niko almost always refuses alcohol when it is offered to him (he asks for water in the mission Ivan The Not So Terrible) except for the mission The Holland Play where Playboy X pours him a glass. Niko goes to drink it, but changes his mind and puts the glass on a table. There is a scene where Niko does drink a glass of vodka (on the rocks) in the mission One Last Thing, while talking to Jimmy Pegorino, but this is understandable considering what he had just been through. Niko does seem to enjoy a drink, but knows the time and place for it. He refuses alcohol outright in instances where he needs to keep a sharp mind, such as during missions.

Without the player’s control, Niko will never hit female pedestrians. For example, when Niko carjacks someone, the animation can sometimes see him punch or kick the occupant of the car, but he only does this to male drivers. If the driver is female, Niko will just pull her out of the car and not harm her.

LCPD Database Record

Naming, Errors and Language

The name «Niko» means nobody or nothing in the Serbo-Croatian language. The surname «Bellic» would not exist in that language, as it does not allow consecutive consonants (i.e., the double-L in «Bellic»); «Bellic» is also pronounced with a hard ‘c’ (/bel-lik/) throughout the game — Niko himself uses the incorrect pronunciation when introducing himself to the receptionist at Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster in the mission Final Interview. A proper pronunciation would use a hard ‘ch’ (/belich/, as used in-game with the names «Darko Brevic» and «Florian Cravic»); a more authentic rendering of Niko’s surname would be ‘Belić’. At one point, Florian, speaking in his native Serbo-Croatian, pronounces the name correctly; «Bellic» may simply be an Anglicised version of «Belić». Going by that custom, Niko’s real name may be Nikola Belić. The surname «Bellic» is likely derived from Russian rather than Serbian, which is incorrect.

The first name «Niko» is distinctively of Croatian origin rather than Serbian, the latter one preferring the name «Nikola». In the mission Final Interview, Tom Goldberg refers to Niko as «Nikolai», although this is an assumption on his part — he begins their interview by saying, «Hello, Niko! What’s that short for? Nikolai?» Niko does not respond and no one else calls him «Nikolai» in the game.

Niko’s voice actor, Michael Hollick, is American, and the accent he assumes for Niko stereotypes Eastern Europeans (Slavic peoples) in general, instead of being specifically Serbian; Niko’s spoken Serbo-Croatian is frequently mispronounced or wrongly emphasised.

Additionally, Niko’s mother writes in a language similar to Serbo-Croatian.

In Other Media

Initial Inspiration

Niko appears to be visually inspired by Sasha from the 2001 movie Behind Enemy Lines, which takes place in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. Sasha’s clothes are even available to buy in the Russian Shop.

Sasha’s actor Vladimir Mashkov later confirmed in an interview that he was asked to play «a man with a dark past, with a slightly rumpled appearance» in an unnamed video game, whose producers liked his performance as Sasha. Given few details about what he was being asked to do or what for, Mashkov thought it was a questionable proposal and not very interesting, and he turned it down. Only later did he learn that the game was GTA IV.

Popularity

Niko was voted 13th in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records for the Top 50 favorite game characters. His name was incorrectly spelled «Nico Bellic.»

Grand Theft Auto Online

Niko Bellic is available as a special parent, used in creating the player’s custom character, alongside Misty, Claude and John Marston from Red Dead Redemption.

Mission Appearances

Grand Theft Auto IV

• As the protagonist, he appears in all missions.

The Lost and Damned

• Clean and Serene
• Buyer’s Market
• Collector’s Item
• Knowing Me, Knowing You (Voice; Optional)
• End Credits

The Ballad of Gay Tony

• I Luv LC
• Not So Fast
• Ladies Half Price

Characters Murdered by Niko Bellic

Main Article: Murders Committed by Niko Bellic

Crimes Committed by Niko Bellic

• Beating Bledar Morina and Kalem Vulaj, and killing Dardan Petrela.
• Escaping the LCPD alongside Jermaine Andrews.
• Watching over a meeting and helping Little Jacob kill the hostile gang members.
• Helping Little Jacob kill the gang members who set him up.
• Following a drug dealer to his apartment and killing him and his backup.
• Taking part in numerous drug deals for Little Jacob.
• Vandalizing a shop to convince the owner to hand the money he owes to Vlad Glebov.
• Assaulting a laundromat owner to convince him to hand the money he owes to Vlad.
• Stealing Jimmy’s car for Vlad.
• Chasing Ivan Bytchkov (and, optionally, killing him).
• Killing Vlad Glebov and hiding his body.
• Stealing a police car and a van full of TVs owned by Kenny Petrovic.
• Threatening Joseph Kaplan to convince him to hand the money he owes to Mikhail Faustin.
• Killing Lenny Petrovic.
• Killing Jason Michaels.
• Blowing up Kenny Petrovic’s garage.
• Killing Mikhail Faustin.
• Killing numerous Russian mobsters after being led into an ambush by Dimitri Rascalov and Ray Bulgarin.
• Stealing a police car and killing Lyle Rivas.
• Stealing Lyle’s car for Brucie Kibbutz.
• Killing Tom Rivas.
• Stealing numerous cars for Brucie Kibbutz.
• Killing a drug dealer and his associates at a warehouse.
• Killing several gang members at a garage.
• Watching over a drug deal and killing the hostile dealers who attacked Patrick McReary.
• Taking part in a drug deal alongside Johnny Klebitz and Playboy X and escaping from the LCPD, killing numerous officers in the process, when the deal is revealed to be a LCPD bust.
• Killing several gang members who get off a train.
• Stealing back Elizabeta Torres’ cocaine from The Angels of Death, killing both them and several pursuing LCPD officers in the process.
• Disposing of Manny Escuella and Jay Hamilton’s bodies.
• Stealing a truck from the Triads for Ray Boccino alongside Patrick McReary.
• Stealing money from the Ancelotti Crime Family for Ray Boccino alongside Patrick, Gordon Sargent and Michael Keane.
• Robbing the Bank of Liberty alongside Patrick, Derrick McReary and Michael Keane.
• Killing Anthony Spoleto and several other members of the Ancelotti Family using a car bomb.
• Killing Frank Garone.
• Killing numerous Russian mobsters in order to rescue Roman Bellic.
• Killing Francis McReary’s blackmailer.
• Killing Tom Goldberg and stealing his files on Francis.
• Killing Clarence Little and his guards.
• Killing Clarence’s chief lieutenant.
• Killing several Union Officials and their guards.
• Killing Marlon Bridges.
• Killing Jayvon Simson (and, optionally, Cherise Glover) and stealing his money for Dwayne Forge.
• Assaulting The Triangle Club and killing the Trunchez Brothers.
• Killing Playboy X or Dwayne Forge.
• Becoming a hitman for United Liberty Paper and killing Oleg Minkov.
• Killing Adam Diayev and his men for U.L. Paper.
• Stealing a helicopter and using it to chase Eduard Borodin (who is killed by Little Jacob) for U.L. Paper.
• Killing Teddy Benavidez and his guards for not paying his debt to Ray Boccino.
• Retrieving stolen diamonds from the trash alongside Luca Silvestri and his crew.
• Killing Luca and his crew for betraying Boccino and stealing the diamonds.
• Attending a diamond deal with the Jewish Mob alongside Johnny Klebitz and killing numerous Jewish mobsters to escape when the deal gets ambushed by Luis Lopez and goes awry.
• Killing Jim Fitzgerald and another biker in retaliation for Johnny betraying Boccino during the diamond deal.
• Killing Isaac Roth and his guards for accusing Boccino of the diamond deal being ambushed.
• Stealing a police car and killing Bucky Sligo and his associates.
• Killing numerous Albanian mobsters who attack Kim Young-Guk.
• Attacking a LCPD convoy alongside Patrick McReary to free and then kill Aiden O’Malley.
• Killing Francis or Derrick McReary.
• Killing several Albanians who attack Francis / Derrick’s funeral.
• Stealing numerous cars for Stevie.
• Kidnapping Gracie Ancelotti.
• Killing several members of the Ancelotti Family who attempt to rescue Gracie.
• Killing numerous Russian mobsters working for Ray Bulgarin who ambush the exchange of Gracie for the diamonds alongside Patrick McReary.
• Killing the homophobic man stalking Bernie Crane.
• Killing Dimitri Rascalov’s men blackmailing Bernie and Bryce Dawkins.
• Killing three of Dimitri’s men attacking him and Bernie during a boat ride.
• Stealing a truck full of heroin from the Triads for Phil Bell and killing all the Triads guarding it.
• Watching over a drug deal and killing all the hostile members of the Pavano Family who attacked Jimmy Pegorino.
• Killing several members of the Pavano Family at the Auto Eroticar showroom as payback.
• Killing numerous targets for The Fixer.
• Killing several of Dimitri’s men attacking Bobby Jefferson.
• Assaulting Mr. Fuk’s Rice Box and killing Kim Young-Guk.
• Destroying the Ancelotti Family’s vans full of coke and killing all of Dimitri’s men guarding them.
• Stealing the Russians’ boats full of coke for the Pegorino Family and killing all of Dimitri’s men guarding them alongside Phil Bell.
• Killing Charles Matteo and all his guards at the abandoned Sprunk Factory.
• Escaping from the LCPD with a bag full of heroin alongside Phil Bell and Frank Gallo.
• Infiltrating the hospital, killing Anthony Corrado (revealed to be a FIB informant), and escaping from the pursuing LCPD officers.
• Killing Ray Boccino and his guards.
• Taking part in a major heroin deal with Jimmy Pegorino and Dimitri Rascalov and killing all the remaining buyers alongside Phil Bell in order to retrieve the money / Infiltrating the Platypus and killing Dimitri and all his guards.
• Killing all of Dimitri and Pegorino’s men at the abandoned Alderney Casino, before chasing and killing Dimitri on Happiness Island in retaliation for Roman Bellic’s death / Killing all of Pegorino’s men at the abandoned Alderney Casino, before chasing and killing Pegorino on Happiness Island in retaliation for Kate McReary’s death.

Other Crimes Committed (player-determinant)

• Grand Theft Auto
• Carjacking
• Manslaughter
• Resisting Arrest
• Robbery
• Burglary
• Mass Homicide
• Attempted murder
• Murder
• Violating Gun Control laws
• Looting
• Dangerous Driving
• Driving under the Influence
• Assault
• Terrorism
• Larceny

Gallery

Grand Theft Auto IV Artwork

Grand Theft Auto IV Screenshots

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto Online

Character Trailer

Trivia

• Niko is referenced in an episode of the TV Series Criminal Minds. In the episode, a missing child is reported as being named «Niko Bellic». The senior agent Rossi immediately catches on: «Niko Bellic is the name of the main character of Grand Theft Auto IV». His co-workers stare at him in disbelief, to which he replies, «What? I know things».
• In the movie Hostage X, while the protagonist is looking through a list of phone contacts, one of the mentioned names is «Niko Bellic».
• Niko has unique quotes for when failing missions. Some quotes include «Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!», «I have got to stop fucking this shit up!», «This place is not much of a fucking holiday!», and «Roman, I should have never read your fucking emails and stayed away!».
• Niko had a childhood crush on a girl from his village, named Mila Tadic. Roman will confirm this during a conversation in a friend activity. He will also point this out while bowling, as well as darts if Niko is close to winning (such as «Niko, remember Mila Tadic? I fucked her!»).
• Vladimir Glebov calls Niko «yokel» multiple times in the game. «Yokel» is a slang term for people who grow up in rural areas.
• According to Roman, Niko was a reckless driver in his home country. When destroying Roman’s cab during Easy Fare, Roman will joke on how Niko always blows up normal cars but doesn’t crash «the tanks from back home».
• In a conversation with Manny Escuela during Escuela of the Streets, he claims that he stalked a woman in Europe and knows the correct distance to keep behind a target vehicle. The reason for this is never stated, but he could’ve been joking.
• One of Niko’s girlfriends, Alexandra Chilton, frequently reveals on her blog that Niko has a very large penis, comments refer to his «bulging package» and how «well-hung» he is. After Niko sleeps with her for the first time, she writes on her blog that she is to discuss this with her friends, Heidi and Paige. Alex also comments that he can be rough and kinky, including a session where he «bullfrogged» her over a washing machine, which she recorded and spanked her with a frying pan, among others. She also writes how she once had to steam clean her whole flat after he left. Alex wonders if all Europeans are like that, which also ties in with Niko’s cousin, Roman, and his attitude towards sex, as someone is often on the prowl for young college girls.
• Niko is seen a couple times on the commercial for VIP Luxury Ringtones. As he is seen wearing a yellow Perseus jacket, the Russian cap from the Russian Shop, and a pair of white sunglasses, which never made it into the game, but do exist in the files and can be spawned with trainers, in a similar fashion to the fingerless gloves.
• According to the LCPD database, Niko was arrested in 2008 for Grand Theft Auto; this is a nod to when GTA IV was released and obviously a nod to the title of the series.
  • His file will remain in the database even if the player goes the whole game without getting arrested at all.
• During the «Got Your Back» private taxi fare in Grand Theft Auto V, an Emperor sedan may spawn with the license plate «NIKOB».
• In GTA V, one can find a wanted poster for Niko on a table near a trailer in the Grand Senora Desert.
• As Niko is the protagonist of GTA IV, he doesn’t have a defined favorite radio station and might comment on any radio station that «it’s great» when switching the station in a Taxi. Niko does, however, state his opinions about some music genres, for example, he mentions that he «likes rap a bit, but is not a «crazy fan» during Pathos’ first random encounter. During friendship activities with Little Jacob, Niko mentions that «this city has some powerful music», and tells Jacob that he likes Bobby Konders, the DJ on Massive B Soundystem. From the start of the game, Tuff Gong Radio is Niko’s least favorite station, but as he does more friend activities with Little Jacob, he will state that he likes the station. During friendship activities with Roman Bellic, Niko will tell Roman that he likes The Vibe 98.8. When asking a taxi driver to tune to WKTT Radio, Niko calls it «that stupid right-wing station,» though this likely stems from Niko’s distaste of politics in general. Radio stations played in his safehouse include Liberty Rock Radio, IF99 — International Funk, The Beat 102.7, Electro-Choc and K109 The Studio, however, Niko’s favorite station is ultimately down to the player.
• After stealing money from the cash registers found in various places around Liberty City, there will be a delay before Niko says something like «forgive me» for stealing the cash.
• In GTA V, inside the Yellow Jack Inn, one can find a picture that appears to be Niko driving a Tow Truck.
• Niko is the most combat-trained protagonist of the entire series at the start of a game.
• In GTA V, a homeless man can be found holding a sign that begs for money and it says that «some Serbian men» robbed him, this could be a reference to Niko.
• The surname Belić is derived from the word «belo», which means «white» in the Serbo-Croatian languages; if Niko’s name is directly translated into English, it would be «Nicholas White».
• Lester Crest’s mention of Niko «going quiet» could be a reference to Niko’s voice actor Michael Hollick’s dispute with Rockstar Games, resulting in his refusal to voice Niko in further games.

References

Navigation

edit

Character

For other members of the Bellic family, see Bellic.

Niko Bellic (Croatian: Niko Belić) (Serbian: Нико Белић) is the playable protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV. Born 1978 in Yugoslavia, he worked as a soldier in the Yugoslav Wars during adolescence; as a young man he worked as a smuggler across the Adriatic Sea. In 2008, he moved to Liberty City to get rich with his cousin Roman, but instead ended up involved in a life of crime.

Biography

Early life and family

It is suggested during «The Cousins Bellic» that Niko and Roman are Serbian when Roman says Niko’s English is «better than my Serbian». Their nationality is addressed in a handful of other missions, and hints at the same conclusion.

Niko grew up in the same village as Roman, with their mothers and their fathers (who were brothers). Niko and Roman’s fathers were abusive alcoholics, whom they both despised; Niko’s mother, Milica Bellic, was a long-suffering woman, unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. In a conversation with Patrick McReary, Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Bosnian war. According to the dialogue in the mission, Taking in the Trash, Niko dreamt of becoming an astronaut when he was a child. In a conversation with Dwayne Forge, Niko says in the place he grew up, they did not have electricity until he was twelve.

Bosnian Wars

Niko grew up in the harsh environment of the Yugoslav Wars, and became a soldier himself as a teenager (The Yugoslav Wars being between 1991 and 1995, this means Niko was only 13-17 years old at the time). Niko says that he was betrayed «ten years ago», making it closer to 1997 or 1998 (although Florian claims that its was «twelve or thirteen years ago» in a phone call after the mission That Special Someone). He served as a helicopter pilot and an infantryman during the war, and during the mission Easy Fare, Roman alludes to him driving a tank (although given Roman’s lack of first-hand experience, this is not necessarily true).

During the war, Niko both witnessed and committed numerous atrocities, which led to his cynical perspective on life, and a certain degree of regret, depression, and emotional detachment. Eventually, Niko’s unit of fifteen men (most of them friends from his village) were ambushed by enemy forces, and all but three were killed: Darko Brevic, Florian Cravic, and Niko himself. Niko concluded that either Florian or Darko had sold the group out, and he vowed to uncover and kill the culprit, not only to gain revenge, but also to hopefully ‘close the book’ on the incident, and move on with his life.

Post-war life

Work was hard to come by following the war. In 1998 Niko’s cousin, Roman had already moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City. Niko tells Kate McReary that after Roman left Yugoslavia, Roman’s mother was raped and murdered but to spare Roman further devastation, he told him she died in a house fire. Niko did at least one prison stint in Europe (that was definitely not for his war crimes as Niko would either be in prison for life or executed) , then worked as a human trafficker for Ray Bulgarin. During a smuggling run from Yugoslavia to Italy the ship sank in the Adriatic. Niko swam to safety, but everything and everyone else was lost. Bulgarin believed that Niko had intentionally scuttled the ship and stole his money; the gangster’s reach was too great within Europe, so Niko joined the merchant navy to escape Bulgarin’s influence.

Life in Liberty City

Niko spent seven months with the cargo ship Platypus, which eventually headed for Liberty City. Niko, his shipmate Hossan Ramzy and others got off the boat to live in Liberty City, possibly permanently, hoping to live the American Dream. His cousin Roman sent emails to their entire family saying he lived a lavish life with several luxury homes, sports cars and girlfriends. Niko was also «looking for that special someone», namely revenge on a former war buddy who accepted a bribe and got most of the group killed. Of the three survivors — himself, Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, he knew Florian was living in Liberty City.

Upon arriving in Liberty City, Niko realized that Roman’s stories of success were entirely exaggerated; he actually lived in a small, decrepit apartment, ran a small taxi depot in Hove Beach, and owed gambling debts across the city to several powerful criminals such as the Albanian and Russian mobs. Niko begins committing crimes while handling Roman’s two loan sharks — fighting off Dardan Petrela while working off debt for Vlad Glebov — and assisting Roman’s regular customers such as Little Jacob in criminal activity. He also begins dating Michelle, a friend of Roman’s steady girlfriend Mallorie Bardas.

A short while later Niko kills Vlad after he found out Vlad was having an affair with Mallorie, and Niko and Roman are immediately kidnapped by Vlad’s bosses Mikhail Faustin and Dimitri Rascalov, who are major figures in Liberty City’s Bratva. Niko ends up working with Faustin. Faustin has Niko murder a member of the The Lost Motorcycle Club Jason Michaels for seeing his daughter, Niko eventually follows Faustin’s rash order to kill the son of dangerous Russian mob leader Kenny Petrovic and is even employed to use a rigged truck to blow up one of Kenny’s garages.

Later, Dimitri talks with Niko in private, and convinces him to kill Faustin in order to be spared of Petrovic’s wrath. Dimitri finally reveals that he is working with Ray Bulgarin when Niko goes to collect on the Faustin hit. Ray Bulgarin appears and tries to have a goon slit Niko’s throat. Niko manages to escape with the help of Little Jacob. However Roman’s apartment and cab depot are torched, and they are forced into hiding, using Mallorie’s cousins’ place in Bohan.

Mallorie puts Niko in contact with Manny Escuela and Elizabeta Torres for more work. Elizabeta, in turn, introduces Niko to Irish hood Patrick «Packie» McReary, Lost MC Vice President Johnny Klebitz, and North Holland Hustlers leader Playboy X.

At one point Little Jacob had some off Elizabeta’s coke stolen from him. Niko shows up and she hires him to go retrieve the stuff. After Niko successfully retrieves the coke he meets up with Little Jacob, only Michelle shows up as well, she reveals to Niko that she in an undercover agent and forces him to work for United Liberty Paper, a front company for a very secretive law enforcement agency. Elizabeta is eventually arrested and sentenced to 300 years imprisonment.

Through his work with the McReary Family, Niko becomes an associate of Ray Boccino and the Pegorino crime family. Meanwhile, Roman receives an insurance payment from his burned-down property, uses it to restart his business and finally becomes rich as according to Niko, Roman is a rich chopping board indicating that he is wealthy. Roman then buys a luxury penthouse in Middle Park East for both of them to live in.

After doing work for Pegorino capo Ray Boccino, Boccino gives Niko the location of Florian, who turns out to be innocent in the ambush during the Yugoslavian Wars. Furthermore, Florian had changed his name to «Bernie Crane», came out as a homosexual and began secretly dating Liberty City’s anti-gay deputy mayor Bryce Dawkins. United Liberty Paper, with help from Gambetti don Jon Gravelli, finally tracked down Darko Brevic in Bucharest and kidnapped him for Niko. Brevic confesses to accepting the fatal bribe because of his heavy drug addiction, and the player chooses whether or not Niko kills him or lets him live as punishment.

Niko is later asked by Don Jimmy Pegorino to help with a heroin deal and work with his bitter enemy, Dimitri Rascalov. In the endgame, the player chooses whether Niko cooperates or kills Dimitri before the deal takes place. If Niko participates, he is betrayed by Dimitri as expected. Either way, a hitman fails to kill Niko at Roman and Mallorie’s wedding, and Niko wants to kill Pegorino. However, depending on Niko’s choice, either Roman Bellic or Kate McReary is killed at the wedding. If Niko chooses revenge he tells Roman that he should have done the deal, and if Niko does the deal he tells Dimitri that he should have killed him at Hove Beach. Both Pegorino and Dimitri are eventually killed. At the game’s end, Niko muses on the American Dream and concludes that it is a hollow promise, which no one can achieve.

After Grand Theft Auto IV

At the end of the game, a Weazel News report states that Niko is wanted for questioning by the police (although not as a suspect), for the events at his cousin’s wedding. It is assumed Niko steers clear of the questioning as he already dealt with the situation personally.

It is unknown what happens to Niko after the events of Grand Theft Auto IV, however it can be assumed that after the Revenge ending Niko stays in Liberty City as Roman and his new family are pretty much all he has. As all of the people who would want to kill Niko are dead anyway, he wouldn’t feel as if he needs to look over his shoulder anymore. Even Ray Bulgarin had been recently killed elsewhere by Luis Lopez unbeknownst to Niko. It should be noted that coming up to the end of the game, Niko reveals to Kate McReary that he doesn’t want to live the crime life anymore, so it appears that he may have ceased and cut all of his criminal ties. Meanwhile in the Deal ending, Niko tells Mallorie that «Your child will never worry about anything», suggesting he would have taken care of his dead cousin’s child. Niko also mentions to Phil Bell that he is leaving the criminal life.

In Grand Theft Auto V Niko is mentioned directly a few times. Lester Crest mentions an Eastern-European (Niko) who was known for making big moves in Liberty City, but has since been quiet (retired), and thus become hard to contact. Later in the mission The Paleto Score, if Patrick McReary is chosen for the heist, Michael De Santa, Trevor Phillips, and Franklin Clinton are all discussing their first score. Patrick mentions his first score was nothing big, but brings up the Bank of Liberty heist, mentioning Niko by name. During his description, he states that Michael Keane was killed, Derrick McReary is dead by this point, and that he presumes Niko is dead. Therefore it is assumed that Niko and Patrick cut ties with each other completely by the end of Grand Theft Auto IV. This would have obviously been whenever Packie left for Los Santos via a flight at Francis International Airport towards the end of 2008.

Niko’s Lifeinvader page can be seen on Jimmy De Santa’s laptop in GTA V. A few of his friends can be seen to the side, Brucie Kibbutz, Little Jacob, and Roman and Mallorie Bellic. This means that Roman is still alive, and the Revenge ending is canon, so therefore Roman is alive, and Kate McReary is deceased. This is known because Lifeinvader did not exist throughout the events of Grand Theft Auto IV or any time beforehand. It is assumed to have been founded by Jay Norris at his parents’ house sometime between 2009 and 2013, so therefore everyone with a profile could only create them during that time period.

Personality

Niko is very protective of his family and loved ones, particularly his cousin Roman, whom Niko constantly has to worry about due to his gambling habit, and Roman has an indiscreet nature of frequently getting the pair into trouble. He is withdrawn among strangers, but has good manners, and shows a softer side with love interests like Kate McReary and Michelle; that said, the horrors of war, both witnessed and perpetrated by Niko, have given him a great sense of guilt, and an ambivalence about the value of human life — he warns away pursuers and expresses regret over his past violence, but also feels that killing is all that he can do, readily taking on jobs which necessarily involve murder. He has an explosive temper when he is betrayed, manipulated, or his loyalty is questioned, but he is also quick to help the defenseless and unfortunate, even those he merely meets in passing; he apparently possesses a sense of idealism which was wounded by his wartime experiences. Unfortunately, such a split attitude leads to hypocrisy — Niko, for example, appears to genuinely sympathize with the McRearys’ grief over the demise of one of their brothers, despite having secretly committed that murder himself.

Niko’s bitterness at the murder of his friends during the war has consumed him, and he is unable to let it go, taking on several highly dangerous jobs merely to enable his quest for vengeance. Several of his friends, most notably Roman, urge him to find a new reason to live, and there are many morality choices for Niko to emphasize his trait.

Niko’s businesslike manner usually leads him to behave more maturely and cautiously than his acquaintances, although with acquaintances like Brucie Kibbutz, Bernie Crane and Roman, this is no surprise. He has an apparent distaste for illicit drugs, turning down Little Jacob’s offer of marijuana and warning against Packie’s cocaine habit; he also finds it distasteful to traffic in cocaine and particularly heroin, although this may be due to the heavy jail sentences they attract as much as any moral qualms. He is skeptical of American mainstream culture, which he sees as shallow, hypocritical and debauched, and has trouble relating to Roman’s fascination with the country.

Niko has a certain degree of pity for other people, even random strangers, and feels obliged to help others who cannot help themselves. Most missions involve Niko doing jobs for money, particularly one occasion, after meeting a troubled young girl, Marnie Allen; he even gives her some of his own money multiple times to help her out.

Niko almost always refuses alcohol when it is offered to him (he asks for water in the mission Ivan The Not So Terrible) except for the mission The Holland Play where Playboy X pours him a glass but immediately before taking a sip, Niko changes his mind and puts the glass on a table. There is a scene where Niko does drink a glass of Vodka (on the rocks) in the mission One Last Thing while talking to Jimmy Pegorino, but this is understandable considering what he has just been through. Niko (who has a couple of bottles of alcohol in his Middle Park East Safehouse and also tells Little Jacob that he likes vodka) does however enjoy a drink, but knows the time and place for it. He refuses alcohol outright in instances where he needs to keep a sharp mind, such as during missions.

LCPD Database record

Surname: Bellic

First Name: Niko

Age: 30

Place of Birth: Unknown

Affiliations: Linked to Russian and West Indian Criminals in Broker

Criminal Record:

• 2008 — Grand Theft Auto

Notes:

• Recent immigrant to Liberty City from Eastern Europe.

• Appears to be avoiding allegiance to one particular criminal organization.

Naming and language errors

The surname «Bellic» would not exist in the Serbian, Bosnian or Croatian languages, as these do not allow consecutive consonants (i.e., the double-L in «Bellic»); «Bellic» is also pronounced with a hard ‘c’ («bel-lik») throughout the game — Niko himself uses the incorrect pronunciation when introducing himself to the receptionist at Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster in the mission Final Interview. A proper pronunciation would use a hard ‘ch’ (as used in-game with the names «Darko Brevic» and «Florian Cravic»); a more authentic rendering of Niko’s surname would be Belić. At one point, Florian, speaking in his native Serbian, pronounces the name correctly; «Bellic» may simply be an Anglicized version of «Belić».

The first name «Niko» is distinctively Croatian. However, it’s possible that Niko is a shortened nickname for the Serbian name «Nikolaj». In the mission Final Interview, Tom Goldberg asks, «What’s [Niko] short for? Nikolai?» Niko does not respond and no one else calls him «Nikolai» in the game.

Niko’s voice actor, Michael Hollick, is American, and the accent he assumes for Niko is not a Serbian one; Niko’s spoken Serbian is frequently mispronounced or wrongly emphasized.

Ironically, a Croatian preview of the game uses his incorrect rendering of his name.^[1]

Trivia

• As Niko is either a protagonist or not a traveling companion in each GTA IV-era game, he’s not assigned a favorite radio station. However, he tells Little Jacob that «this city has some incredible music» and that he is a keen reggae fan. He tells Pathos and Patrick McReary that he listens to rap a little bit, but he is not a crazy fan.
• In the opening cutscene of The Lost and Damned during the mission Clean and Serene, Niko can be seen in the background roughly brushing past a pedestrian, right before you hear the LCPD report of the motorcyclists wearing no helmets. Oddly, Niko shouldn’t even be seen in Alderney, as this contradicts GTA IV; at the time of the mission, Niko is restricted to the boroughs of Bohan, Broker and Dukes.

Sasha from Behind Enemy Lines and Niko in GTA IV. Niko’s «Track Top Navy», as well as his fingerless gloves and thicker haircut (enabled using a mod), bear a likeness to those seen on Sasha.

• Niko appears to be visually inspired by Sasha from the movie Behind Enemy Lines (2001), which takes place in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. Sasha’s clothes are even available to buy in the Russian Shop. Early game art of Niko were depicted to resemble Sasha more so than later during development. It was implied in an interview with Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov that he was once offered the role, and he was aware that Niko was based on his character.
• Niko, similar to Florian Cravic, has a scar on his left eyebrow.
• Niko had a childhood crush on a girl from his village, named Mila Tadic. Roman will confirm this during friend activities.
• In artwork and earlier screenshots, Niko had often been seen wearing fingerless gloves. The files still remain in the PC version (confirmed) and can only be used with an in-game trainer. Obtaining them in the game without modding is impossible. The reason why they have been removed from the final version of the game is unknown, but it is likely due to the fact that they are not very inconspicuous.
• In early beta versions of GTA IV, Niko had slightly thicker hair and sometimes he can be seen with a buzzcut, neither of which appear in GTA IV, but still exists in the game files.
• Niko, along with Patrick McReary, can be fought and killed in The Ballad of Gay Tony mission Ladies Half Price. Niko and Packie have a colossal amount of health, and their deaths do not affect the story [2].
• Vladimir Glebov calls Niko «Yokel» multiple times in the game. Yokel is a derogatory term for people who grew up in poor countries.
• Niko was a speeder and daredevil before he even left his home country, as Roman comments that he is still a crazy driver.
• In a conversation with Manny Escuela during Escuela of the Streets, he claims that he stalked a woman in Europe, however the reason is never stated.
• One of Niko’s girlfriends, Alexandra Chilton, frequently reveals on her blog that Niko has a very large penis, comments refer to his «bulging package» and how «well-hung» he is. After Niko sleeps with her for the first time, she writes on her blog that she is to discuss this with her friends, Heidi & Paige. Alex also comments that he can be rough and kinky, including a session where he «bullfrogged» her over a washing machine, which she recorded and spanked her with a frying pan, amongst others. She also writes how she once had to steam clean her whole flat after he left. Alex wonders if all Europeans are like that, which also ties in with Niko’s cousin, Roman, and his attitude towards sex, as who is often on the prowl for young college girls.
• It can be noted that without the player’s control, Niko will never hit female pedestrians. For example, when Niko carjacks someone, the animation can sometimes see him punch or kick the occupant of the car, but he only does this to male drivers. If the driver is female, Niko will just pull her out of the car and not harm her. Rockstar Games included this so as to fit with the personality that had been created for him. Also, some Random Character missions require Niko to beat up men for assaulting women. The only time Niko hits a female without the player’s input is during the two-part mission, I’ll Take Her, where he punches and knocks out Gracie Ancelotti in order to stop her behaving erratically when he tries to kidnap her for the McRearys, and later when she is tied up, he slaps her to get her attention for a photo to prove to her father he has her held hostage. This is directly referenced to in TBOGT by Luis Lopez, when he also hits Gracie to shut her up during Ladies Half Price.
• There is a possible reference to Niko in a competing game, Saints Row. There is a commercial featuring a man named Vlad with an East European accent (Jason Zumwalt, the same voice actor that voices Roman), with hints that he is a human trafficker, and claims he is willing to have the player’s family killed.
• If Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend is played after Pest Control, Niko tells Packie that he has intentions of going after Bulgarin.
• Niko is currently the only protagonist to originate from Europe, although Tommy Vercetti and Toni Cipriani have European roots.
• Niko was voted thirteenth in the 2011 edition of the Guinness World Records for the Top 50 favourite game characters.
• Niko Bellic is mentioned in an episode of Criminal Minds, a young serial killer who like video game took the nickname of Niko Bellic but one main character knew that’s the name of the main character of a «very famous video game».
• During the GTA IV storyline, Niko wipes out 6 gangs which are the Faustin Family, East Holland Drug Gang, Rascalov Family, Albanian mafia and the Pegorino Family. He may have also ended the Ancelotti Family, since two Capos, the Underboss and several members were killed by Niko Bellic. He was also involved in the end of the Lost MC Alderney chapter since Niko killed Jason Michaels and Jim Fitzgerald.
• Niko Bellic could be the most popular Grand Theft Auto protagonist to date. A Grand Theft Wiki poll showed that 1826 users thought Niko Bellic was the best protagonist.
• Niko’s immigrant status is uncertain, and arouses the suspicion of the LCPD and FIB. Although Niko often protests while fleeing police that he «has [his] papers», Roman says that Niko does not have a visa.
• Although Niko does not make an appearence in Grand Theft Auto V, he was mentioned directly and referenced twice throughout the game.
• Niko Bellic, in his default outfit, resembles Mark Renton, the main protagonist of the 1996 film Trainspotting. The fact that both the film and the Grand Theft Auto games were created in Edinburgh, Scotland makes the similarity more striking.
• If the player plays as Trevor in GTA V during Patrick McReary’s random encounter and takes him to The Altruists, Patrick states that Trevor is similar to Niko: an ‘ice cold killer, look of murder in his eyes’. He also tells Trevor that despite this, the two still became friends.
• If the player switches to Michael De Santa in GTA V sometimes he will be in his dining room with Jimmy De Santa and Tracey De Santa, Jimmy is looking at Niko’s Lifeinvader page on his laptop. It appears that Niko has given up his life of crime and is living a normal one with Roman which was what he wanted to do when he moved to Liberty City. From what we can see on his profile, he appears to be happily moving on with his life. He has even put up a few pictures of the sights in Algonquin.
• By the events of GTA V in 2013, as Niko is retired, it appears he still keeps in touch with his remaining friends and family, including Roman, Mallorie, Brucie, Little Jacob, and Dwayne (if spared in The Holland Play which is likely canon) as they are pretty much all he has left after the events of GTA IV, as Packie had moved to Los Santos. This is evidenced by the fact that he has a majority of them on his friends list on Lifeinvader.

Mission appearances

GTA IV

• As the protagonist, he appears in every mission.

The Lost and Damned

• Clean and Serene
• It’s War (mentioned only)
• Action/Reaction (mentioned only)
• Buyer’s Market
• Heavy Toll (mentioned only)
• Roman’s Holiday (mentioned only)
• Collector’s Item
• Credits (TLAD)
• Knowing Me, Knowing You (voice only)

The Ballad of Gay Tony

• I luv L.C.
• Not So Fast
• Ladies Half Price

GTA Online

• Character Customization

Gallery

• 

  Early game art of Niko Bellic, with the later removed fingerless gloves visible. The design of his track jacket was also different, originally appearing with two layers instead of one; the final design of his track jacket appears to be a combination of the two layers, down to the color.

• 

  Alternate artwork of Niko Bellic.

• 

  Alternate artwork of Niko Bellic in a similar drab, featured commonly in later promotional materials, as well as GTA IV’s box art. The turtleneck sweater is depicted as red instead of gray in game.

• 

  Artwork of Niko Bellic.

• 

  One of the earliest publicly released in-game screenshots of GTA IV, depicting an early Niko Bellic model, which follows the design seen in the aforementioned early game art.

See also

• Murders Committed by Niko Bellic

References

Нико Беллик (англ. Niko Bellic, серб. Нико Белић; род. 1978 год) — главный герой компьютерной игры Grand Theft Auto IV.

Беллик является ветераном Югославской войны, родом из Юго-Восточной Европы. Он узнаёт от своего двоюродного брата Романа, что тот успешно живёт в Либерти-Сити. Желая оторваться от своего мрачного прошлого, Нико отправляется в Либерти-Сити в поисках «американской мечты» и человека, предавшего его во время войны. По прибытии выясняется, что брат лгал, и Нико был ему необходим, чтобы справиться с многочисленными проблемами.

Биография

Национальность Нико никогда не упоминается в самой игре^[4], хотя он говорит на сербском языке как на родном, и известно, что он родом с Балкан. Данный факт предполагает, что он из Сербии, или по крайней мере является этническим сербом.
Его отец был алкоголиком, который постоянно оскорблял его мать и старшего брата. Мать Нико — Милица, отличающаяся материнской заботой, очень сожалела, что её сыновья вынуждены переносить тяготы югославских войн. По словам матери Нико, он в детстве ходил на плавание. Старший брат Нико был убит во время военных действий, в которых также участвовал и Нико. За время войны Нико видит многочисленные зверства и ужасы войны, включая убийство и нанесение увечий 50 детям^[5], которые приводят его к циничному взгляду на жизнь, постоянным сожалениям, депрессии, эмоциональной и социальной изолированности.
В определённый момент войны армейский отряд из пятнадцати молодых людей, включая Нико, из его деревни был заманен в засаду врагом. Нико чудом избегает смерти в засаде, и несколько недель спустя понимает, что отряд был предан одним из его солдат. Нико возвращается к яме, где были похоронены его друзья и идентифицирует каждый из трупов. В итоге он приходит к выводу — спаслись только трое: Дарко Бревич, Флориан Кравич и сам Беллик. Нико поклялся найти предателя и отомстить ему^[6][7].
Нико обладает определёнными навыками, которые были приобретены им во время его раннего армейского обучения, такими как рукопашный бой, навыки стрельбы.

По окончании войны Нико испытал трудности в поиске работы и возвращению к нормальной жизни. Последующие 10 лет Нико примыкает к сербским преступным группировкам, одновременно пытаясь найти предателей. Нико в конечном счёте обнаружил, что Флориан Кравич, один из двух оставшихся в живых из военного отряда, также проживает в Либерти-Сити. Позднее он на короткий срок был заключен в тюрьму. После того, как он был освобожден, Нико вовлекается в контрабанду людей, которой управляет русский преступник Родислав «Рэй» Булгарин. Во время одной такой контрабанды в Италию в Адриатическом море, судно с людьми тонет, но Нико удаётся спастись^[8]. Булгарин обвиняет Нико, что тот сбежал с судна с его деньгами, и хотя Нико опровергает все обвинения, Булгарин не верит ему. Чтобы избежать мести Булгарина, Нико садится на судно «Platypus», идущее в Либерти-Сити. На протяжении нескольких месяцев пути по Атлантическому океану, Нико работает одним из членов экипажа корабля^[9].

Прибыв в Либерти-Сити Нико понимает, что Роман все это время врал — всё, чего он достиг, — это свой собственный небольшой таксопарк в Брокере, скромная квартирка и подружка по имени Мэллори Бардас.

Нико знакомится с окружением Романа. Заводит дружбу с торговцем оружием и наркотиками Малышом Джейкобом. По мере того, как Нико помогает своему двоюродному брату, он узнаёт, что рэкетир Влад Глебов пристаёт к Меллори за спиной Романа. Пытаясь решить эту проблему, Нико преследует Глебова и убивает в доках, сбрасывая труп в реку. Романом сразу же овладевает паранойя, и он оказывается прав: кузенов быстро находит русская мафия в лице Михаила Фаустина и Димитрия Раскалова. В силу своего характера, Нико находит общий язык с похитителями и начинает на них работать. Однако, спустя некоторое время Димитрий просит убить сошедшего с ума Михаила, что Нико и делает.

После этого, на встрече, организованной Димитрием, Нико выясняет, что Раскалов работает на Родислава Булгарина, человека, который был нанимателем героя на родине и обвинил его в краже денег. Джейкоб, узнавший о встрече, помогает Беллику выбраться живым, хотя Раскалову и Булгарину удаётся бежать, после чего они поджигают квартиру Романа и его таксопарк. Герои переезжают в Бохан, где знакомятся с Патриком МакРири и его братом Фрэнсисом. Он активно участвует в деятельности братьев МакРири и становится своим среди них, а позже знакомится с влиятельным человеком Реем Боччино который помогает ему найти человека, которому Нико собирался отомстить.

В конечном итоге, Нико должен решить, стоит ли ему совершить Месть над Димитрием Раскаловым, в чём Нико поддерживает Кейт МакРири, или следует заключить с Раскаловым Сделку, на что его уговаривает Роман.

Во время игры показано, что взгляды Нико на американскую культуру разнятся — с одной стороны Нико в замешательстве, с другой — испытывает сильное отвращение. Необузданный материализм раздражает его, также ему неприятна чрезмерная увлеченность Романа американской культурой^[10].

Прототип Беллика

C момента разработки игры существовало предположение, что прототипом Нико мог стать сербский киллер Саша из фильма «В тылу врага», роль которого сыграл Владимир Машков. На данное предположение наводил тот факт, что на первых промоматериалах игры GTA IV, Нико не только внешне похож на Сашу, но и одет в схожую одежду, включая перчатки на руках, которые отсутствуют в финальном релизе игры.

Наконец в эфире программы «Познер» от 26 сентября 2010 года, где гостем программы был Владимир Машков, отвечая на вопрос про игру Владимир подтвердил информацию о том, что главного героя GTA IV создали по образу его героя из фильма «В тылу врага». Комментируя слухи о его отказе в озвучивании Нико Беллика с формулировкой, что это «не мой уровень» Машков сказал^[11]:

Нет, таких слов в моем лексиконе, «не мой уровень», не было никогда в жизни. Мне, прям, сейчас аж стыдно. Дело в том, что это была странная такая, полуаферистическая вещь. Я очень рад, что эта игра собрала за месяц полмиллиарда долларов — это идет разговор о GTA IV. То есть это самая продаваемая игра в мире. И они использовали мой образ из картины Джона Мура под названием «В тылу врага». Вот, им понравилось такое. Я очень старался, собирал по кусочкам этот бомжеватый вид. И мне не сказали тогда, что это такое. Может быть, я озвучил бы. Не знаю. Ну, это интересно, часть профессии, но не особенно меня это увлекает. <…> Я даже не знал, что это, я не принял это всерьез.

Критика и отзывы

Нико был хорошо принят критиками^[12]. GameDaily включил его в список 25 лучших антигероев видео-игр, заявив, что его золотое сердце прячется за его грубой внешностью^[13]. В другой статье, они приводят Беллика как пример «страшного иностранца» в качестве одного из 25 архетипов персонажей компьютерных игр, из-за его внешности «европейского бандита»^[14]. Они также используют его как пример «стереотипной ходьбы»^[15].

Кроме того, Нико Беллик получил 13 место в списке пятидесяти лучших персонажей компьютерных игр по версии книги рекордов Гиннесса^[16][17].

Ссылки

• Официальный сайт Архивная копия от 29 сентября 2013 на Wayback Machine (англ.)
• Российский фан-сайт Архивная копия от 2 октября 2013 на Wayback Machine (рус.)
• Зарубежный фан-сайт (англ.)

Примечания

Личность

Нико яро защищает свою семью и близких, особенно двоюродного брата Романа, о ком ему постоянно приходится
беспокоиться. Роман имеет непреодолимую страсть к азартным играм и особый талант вечно попадать в
неприятности. Нико же немного замыкается в себе в компании незнакомцев, но может похвастаться хорошими
манерами и более открыт в отношениях с женщинами, например Кейт Макрири и Мишель. Однако ужасы войны, в
которых ему довелось принимать участие, привели к неподъемному чувству вины и двоякому отношению к
ценности человеческой жизни.

Он сожалеет о прошлых преступлениях и насилии, но также считает, что убийство — это все, что он может
сделать, и с готовностью соглашается на работу, которая так или иначе связана со смертями. Нико
отличается взрывным характером и не терпит, когда им пытаются манипулировать, или ставят под сомнение
его преданность. С другой стороны он всегда готов помочь беззащитным и обездоленным, даже тем, кого
случайно встречает на своем пути. Очевидно, он идеалист по натуре, что, скорее всего, вызвано его
душевными ранами после войны. На деле такое двоякое отношение ведет к лицемерию: например, Нико искренне
сочувствует скорби Макрири по поводу гибели одного
из их братьев, несмотря на то, что он сам совершил это убийство.

Чувство скорби и злобы в связи со смертью друзей во время войны всецело поглотило Нико, и он соглашается
на несколько очень опасных заданий, просто чтобы отомстить. В то время как некоторые из его друзей, в
особенности Роман, убеждают его найти новую цель в жизни. Благодаря деловой хватке Нико обычно ведет
себя более зрело и осторожно, чем его знакомые, хотя с такими друзьями, как Брюси Киббуц, Берни Крейн и
Роман, это не удивительно. Он явно испытывает отвращение к наркотикам, отказываясь от предложения
Джейкоба покурить марихуану и предупреждая Пакки о пагубности его пристрастия к кокаину.

Нико летит на вертолёте через центральный Алгонквин с Малышом Джейкобом в кресле второго пилота:

«Джейкоб, тебе действительно так нужно курить это прямо сейчас? Дым от второй руки мешает мне
скоординироваться! Знаешь, что… Чёрт! Кури это!»

Ему также противно участвовать в наркотрафике кокаина и особенно героина, хотя это может быть связано не
столько с моральной стороной вопроса, сколько с тюремными сроками, которые влечет за собой такой бизнес.
Нико скептически относится к американской культуре, считая ее поверхностной, лицемерной и развратной, и
его не может не волновать преданность Романа этой стране.

Он испытывает некую жалость к другим, даже случайным незнакомцам, и чувствует себя обязанным помогать
людям, которые не могут помочь себе сами. Однажды, после встречи с обеспокоенной молодой девушкой по
имени Марни Аллен он дает ей немного своих
собственных сбережений, чтобы хоть как-то помочь.

Когда ему предлагают выпить, Нико почти всегда отказывается (в миссии Ivan The Not So Terrible он просит
воду), за исключением миссии The Holland Play,
когда Плэйбой Икс наливает ему стакан, но, прежде чем сделать глоток, Нико всё же отказывается и ставит
стакан на стол. Также в миссии One Last Thing
есть сцена, где разговаривая с Джимми Пегорино, Нико выпивает стакан водки, но это не удивительно,
учитывая то, что он только что пережил.

Тем не менее, он может изредка выпить, но в нужное время в нужном месте: в его убежище в Миддл-Парке
припрятано пару бутылок с алкоголем, также он говорит Джейкобу, что ему нравится водка. Однако он
категорически отказывается от алкоголя, когда ему необходимо сохранять трезвость ума, например, во время
миссий.