Michael De Santa is one of the three playable protagonists from GTA 5 and has been an extremely famous video game character for over 12 years. Just like the game itself, Michael is also a bit older than he was at the release of the game. This raises the question for many fans whether he can be categorized as a Boomer.
How old is Michael? Michael De Santa is a very recognizable protagonist from GTA 5 and video games in general. The player Big_Leg10 asked in the GTA subreddit whether the former small-time criminal and family man is a Boomer, or if he belongs to Generation X.
To answer this question, one must first look at how old Michael actually is, or rather, when he was born. Michael was born in 1965, as can be seen from his false gravestone, which makes him 48 years old at the time of the release of GTA 5 in 2013. However, that doesn’t make the solution any easier.
Michael is neither a clear Boomer nor a true Gen Xer
To which generation does Michael belong? The clear answer to this question is: neither. Or rather, both. Michael was born exactly in the very first year that can be assigned to Generation X. Had he been born a year earlier, in 1964, he would still officially be counted among the Baby Boomers.
Since this transition is so close, the community on Reddit, as well as many others in this transition period, refer to him as a so-called “Xoomer”.
All this calculation and research could have been spared by the players. Because Michael reveals in the game itself which generation he belongs to – and the word Xoomer is not mentioned there. However, the word judgment is mentioned much more often.
Where and when does Michael talk about his generation? In a small side mission in GTA 5, which can be seen here on YouTube, either Michael or Franklin can rescue a woman from the side of the road, where she is almost abducted by two strange men. After her rescue and on the way to her home, the woman talks about the Boomer generation and does not have a kind word to say. However, Michael is not bothered by this, as he himself refers to Boomers as “the worst generation in the history of the world”.
When the woman wants to apologize in case Michael is a Boomer himself, he reacts almost insulted: “No! I’m a hundred percent Gen X. Didn’t you notice how bitter and cynical I am? […] not even remotely like a real Boomer.”
The actor of Michael De Santa, Ned Luke, had to insult himself with these statements in the recording booth. He is indeed a Boomer with his birth year of 1958, although still a relatively young Boomer. He enjoys streaming on YouTube and Twitch. During one of his livestreams, a rather exciting incident occurred that has become normal for the actor: An actor from GTA 5 gets visited by the police so often that he already greets the cops friendly.
