Kratos

Kratos is the main protagonist of the God of War series. A former Spartan general, later revealed to be the son of Zeus.

God of War
As a prominent Spartan general, Kratos led his armies to victory countless times, until they were one day overwhelmed by a horde of barbarians. With defeat all but certain, Kratos called out to the god Ares, promising to give his life to serve the god in exchange for victory. Ares agreed, granting Kratos the Blades of Chaos, and giving him the power to kill the barbarians. The god of war would then shape Kratos into a weapon of destruction, causing him to murder countless lives in the name of Ares. This ends in tragedy when Kratos is tricked by Ares into killing his own wife and daughter in a temple dedicated to Athena. The temple's oracle curses Kratos by binding the ashes of his family to his skin, turning his complexion white and earning him the nickname "the Ghost of Sparta".

For the next ten years, Kratos serves the Gods of Olympus in hopes of freeing himself from his nightmares.

God of War (2018)
Having survived his wounds, Kratos left the ruins of Olympus, eventually settling in Midgard. At an unknown point, he married a woman named Faye (unbeknownst to him, a Jötunn giant named Laufey), with whom he has a son, Atreus. Kratos has a distant relationship with his son, and keeps his past and divine nature a secret.

The game begins on the morning of Faye's funeral. As per her last wish, Kratos cremates her body, using trees she marked for her funeral pyre, and prepares to take her ashes to the highest mountain in all the realms with Atreus.

Norse Era
Kratos has visibly aged in appearance, now sporting a full beard. Kratos is depicted as stoic and gruff, but calmer and more reserved than he was during the Greek era. He now wields the Leviathan Axe, an axe imbued with ice elemental magic inherited from his late wife, and later retakes his Blades of Chaos.

The aftermath of his revenge has left Kratos wiser and more mature: he has learned to control his rage, and now only kills either in self-defense or hunting. However, he keeps his past and divine nature a secret from Atreus out of shame, and has difficulty connecting with his son. Over the course of the game, he bonds with Atreus, teaching him to be a warrior.

Portrayal
In the Greek era of the series, Kratos was voiced by Terrence C. Carson. In the Norse era, his role was given to Christopher Judge. The reasons behind this switch were that Judge's physique was more suited for motion-capture than Carson's, and that Judge had the best chemistry with Sunny Suljic, the actor for Atreus. Judge provided motion capture for Kratos as well, although stunt work was performed by Eric Jacobus.