John Marston (Red Dead)

Rob Wiethoff auditioned for the role of John Marston by folding laundry while reading his lines. He was not aware of the game's identity, then only referred to as an "untitled video game project".[2] He felt that the audition was a waste of time, but received the role a few days later.[2] The performance capture process involved simultaneous recording of movement and speech, while a small part was done in a voice-over booth.[3][4] Wiethoff worked on the first game for almost two years, with principal production lasting around six weeks.[3] The first scene to be recorded was John meeting Nigel West Dickens.[5] Recording would take place over a few weeks, before taking a break of a month or two.[2] Wiethoff estimated that around 12–15 scenes were recorded each day.[3] The recording crew often referred to scenes from Rockstar's previous game, Grand Theft Auto IV (2008); Wiethoff pretended to understand before eventually admitting that he had not played the game.[2]

John was developed to be a nuanced character in Red Dead Redemption, as opposed to an explicit villain or hero,[6] and a "family man".[7] Carson said that Marston "has a foot in both the old world and the world that was to come", and felt that the character became interesting due to the combination of cynicism and realism.[6] Wiethoff felt that the early decisions in John's life were a direct result of his need for acceptance, and that he may not have been aware of his actions.[8] John's physical appearance took "quite a while" for the team to achieve, but they felt that it allowed them to develop an emotional connection to the character.[5] Wiethoff was asked to return for the downloadable content Undead Nightmare about a month after moving back to Seymour, Indiana from Los Angeles, where the first game was recorded; Undead Nightmare was recorded in New York.[3]

When developing John in Red Dead Redemption 2, the writers felt that his previous appearance could be limiting to them, since players have already resonated with the character.[9] Wiethoff looked to his own life when returning to the character; he always looked up to his older sister's male friends for approval in the same way that John looks up to the rest of the gang for validation.[4] He also took inspiration from the "pretty tough dudes" in his home town for John's personality.[10]

While marketing materials for Red Dead Redemption presented John as a traditional cowboy—isolated and violent,[11] a "white, heteronormative, rugged individual"[12]—his behaviour and ambitions in the narrative are generally unconventional.[11][13] His ambiguity and internal conflict lead him to exhibit "weariness more than manliness".[14] Regardless, John continues to perpetuate stereotypes in some instances; he continues to preserve lives in his missions for the government despite his bitter opposition to them, described as an enactment of Theodore Roosevelt's masculine ideals.[15] Benjamin J. Triana recognized that John's challenges reflected those of straight, cisgender men in the modern era.[16] Matt Margini blamed John's downfall on "the false promises of a world built on hypermasculine ideals", emphasized by John's unsuccessful attempts to adopt a new form of masculinity and play an empathetic father to his son Jack.[17] Juho Tuominen described John as an idealist.[18] Dr. Esther Wright identified that, while John is not overtly racist, his participation in an attack on an Indian reservation implicates him in "a micro-scale recreation of racist, genocidal violence".[19] Triana wrote that Native Americans "end up victims to the game's evil social forces" due to John's priority of reuniting with his family.[20]

Several scholars noted that, despite the use of the word "redemption" in the first game's title, such a feat was impossible for John.[21][22] Kotaku's Heather Alexandra felt that John achieved his redemption upon sacrificing himself to save his family.[23] Triana found that, while John's death "implies transcendence", it is not overtly sacrificial, nor does it represent John as a hero.[24] He also felt that the ending allowed the player to properly understand John's rejection of a developing society and institutions due to the misery endured from the government.[20] While John's violent past rendered him unable to achieve redemption, it also impacted his son's own ability to achieve the American Dream as he becomes an outlaw like his father.[22]

John's mother, a prostitute, died during childbirth and his father, who had been blinded in a bar fight, died when John was eight years old. John spent a few years in an orphanage before running away. When John was threatened to be lynched after being caught stealing at the age of 12, he was saved by Dutch van der Linde, who took him into his gang and raised him.[25] When Abigail Roberts joined the gang, she and John fell in love and had a son named Jack.

Rob Wiethoff received praise and awards for his performance as John.

The character of John Marston received critical acclaim. Keith Shaw of Network World described the character as "complicated character".[26] Seth Schiesel, writing for The New York Times, stated that "[John] and his creators conjure such a convincing, cohesive and enthralling re-imagination of the real world that it sets a new standard for sophistication and ambition in electronic gaming."[27] GamesRadar named the character among the best of the generation, particularly praising the vulnerability portrayed in his family life.[28] Game Informer's Javy Gwaltney lauded John as Rockstar's best character, noting that the complexities of his personality make him more realistic than most protagonists.[29] IGN's Brian Albert considered John one of the "most badass video game gunslingers", praising his skill and protective nature.[30] Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer wrote that the script for Undead Nightmare understood the spirit of its characters and balanced sardonicism and honest pathos, and felt that its nuanced treatment of John Marston made him "one of gaming's great characters".[31]

Prior to Red Dead Redemption 2's release, Kotaku's Heather Alexandra expressed hesitation towards John's return, as his past remaining vague made the first game compelling.[32] Game Informer staff felt that, by the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, John had developed into "the man we knew him to be in the original game: loving, faithful, honorable, and tragically doomed".[33] Dave Meikleham of GamesRadar wrote that Red Dead Redemption 2's climax was effective in explaining John's behavior in the first game.[34] Polygon's Russ Frushtick considered John's story in the game's epilogue to be more motivating than Arthur's as his quest has a direct purpose.[35] Conversely, Paul Tassi of Forbes found John's story less interesting than Arthur's after spending so much time with the latter, partly due to John's lack of character growth.[36] Jess Joho, writing for Mashable, considered Arthur and John to be "practically interchangeable anti-heroes", noting disappointment at the lack of shifting themes between the two.[37] Game Informer's Gwaltney considered Arthur Morgan to be a better protagonist, citing John's lack of growth throughout the game.[38] Some players criticized the game's patches for changing John's character model, considering it a "downgrade" to more closely resemble Arthur's model.[39]

For his role in Red Dead Redemption, Wiethoff won Outstanding Character Performance at the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.[40] He was nominated for Best Performance by a Human Male at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, where John was also nominated for Character of the Year.[41] In 2013, Complex named Wiethoff's performance as one of the best in a video gaming, praising the growth of the character.[42]