A book case in the living room of Franklin's Vinewood house contains a book called "Red Dead", by J. Marston. This is a reference to Red Dead Redemption, and its protagonist, John Marston.

During The Paleto Score, if Spoiler:Packie McReary is brought along as a heist gunman, he begins to talk about a robbery in Liberty City:


This refers to the events of the mission Spoiler:Three Leaf Clover in Grand Theft Auto IV.

The mission "The Ballad of Rocco" is a reference to "The Ballad of Gay Tony", where Rocco makes his first canonical appearance.

In the mission "Fresh Meat", the opening cutscene was almost entirely improvised by the two main actors (Steven Ogg as Trevor and Shawn Fonteno as Franklin). During motion-capture, Ogg tripped over an obstacle and Fonteno broke out laughing. Upon standing up, Ogg started to yell at Fonteno (in character) and the scene was kept in-game.

Trevor Phillips' starting vehicle in the game is a "Canis Bodhi" pickup truck. Steven Ogg, Trevor's voice actor, has a son named Bodhi. It's believed the vehicle is named after his son.

In an interview with Playboy Magazine, Sam Houser admitted that he got his mother, veteran actress Geraldine Moffat, to do some voice and mo-cap work for Grand Theft Auto V. While she is uncredited in the game, it is widely believed by many that she played Trevor Phillips' mother. They look similar, her actress is not credited, and she has an uncharacteristically English accent for a woman who is supposed to be Canadian.

In the mission "Derailed", the player must jump a dirtbike off a ramp and land on top of a train. One of the gold medal objectives, titled "Better than CJ", requires the player to make the jump using the first of several ramps.

This objective is a reference to the mission "Wrong Side of the Tracks" in GTA: San Andreas, where Carl Johnson (CJ), must chase a train on a dirtbike. One way of beating the mission is to drive up a series of ramps, and jump onto the train. The mission is notoriously difficult, and Big Smoke's line upon failing it became an internet meme: "All we had to do, was follow the damn train, CJ!"

The title of the mission 'Pack Man' is a reference to the game Pac-Man.

At the Yellow Jack Inn, there are bloody footsteps around the 8 ball pool table in the back. This is a possible reference to the serial killer Merle Abrahams and his obsession with the number '8'.

The name of Trevor Phillips' business, TPI Enterprises, is a real Australian company that processes opium poppies.

A pre-release screenshot of the game shows Trevor Phillips wearing a green bandana. However, in the final release, Trevor never wears a bandana.

In the mission "Did Somebody Say Yoga?" Amanda originally wore a white bathrobe, as seen in Trevor's character trailer.

The 4th heist mission "The Paleto Score" is loosely based on the 1997 North Hollywood Bank Robbery.

One of the Gold medal objectives in the mission "By the Book" is called "Don't Stop Me Now". This is a reference to the song "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen.

In the game's online mode, some pedestrians can be seen wearing a shirt depicting John Marston from Red Dead Redemption.

A pre-release screenshot shows Franklin chasing the plane in Caida Libre, not Trevor.

In an interview with "USA Today", Ned Luke stated that he gained 25 pounds to portray his character, Michael De Santa.

Scattered around Los Santos, there are billboards showing "Die Already 4". The title can also be seen in the movie listings in at the Astro Theater. This is a possible reference to Die Hard and its 4 sequels.

During the mission "Father/Son", when Spoiler:Franklin throws someone off the boat, he'll make the Wilhelm scream, a very popular stock sound effect in movies. It can also be heard at the movie studio in the game.

One of the Gold medal objectives in the mission "Did Somebody Say Yoga?" is called "Praise The Sun!". This is a reference to a popular phrase used in the game Dark Souls.