Stephen Root Confirms He Is in ‘GTA 6,’ Where He Plays a Drug Trafficker in the Leonida Keys

It’s official: Character actor Stephen Root has lent his voice to one of the underworld characters in Rockstar Games‘ highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto 6” coming out this fall — although he suspects a lot of fans had already figured that out.

“Yeah, you’re gonna see me in there,” Root told the AP in a recent interview when asked about his involvement in “GTA 6.”

“GTA 6,” the first major release in the popular franchise in more than 10 years, will be released Nov. 19.

Root provides the voice of Brian Heder, who is described in Rockstar’s character guide for the game as “a classic drug runner from the golden age of smuggling in the [Leonida] Keys,” the fictional locale inspired by the Florida Keys. “Still moving product through his boat yard with his third wife, Lori, Brian’s been around long enough to let others do his dirty work.” Root was born and raised in Florida, and he attended the University of Florida.

Root said some online sleuths had already figured out he was in the game based on promotional clips Rockstar released. “I think from the first rollout of ‘GTA’ that they were doing maybe almost a year ago, they had my character in there. And there were too many people who knew me from ‘King of the Hill’ and my voice,” the actor told the AP. “So I think that secret kind of got divulged then.”

On Monday, Root won his first Emmy Award, for supporting actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Wyck in Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay.” Root, 74, is now the oldest actor to win in the category.

In addition to his voice work for “King of the Hill,” Root is known for his turn as Milton in 1999 cult comedy “Office Space” and his turn in HBO’s dark-comedy series “Barry.”