Charles Martinet, The Voice Of Mario, Is Retiring From The Role
Image Source: Nintendo Soup
After 32 years, the iconic Charles Martinet will be stepping down from voicing the role of Mario. Nintendo announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the voice actor will be moving into the new role of “Mario Ambassador” and will no longer be providing the voice of the Italian plumber going forward. Martinet confirmed the announcement on his X (formerly Twitter) feed:
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Martinet began voicing Mario in 1991. The actor landed the role after hearing about the audition from a friend. He arrived late to the auditions just as they were packing up and asked “Can I read for this?” The directors allowed him to audition, describing the character as an “Italian plumber from Brooklyn,” and he initially intended to use a harsh, Brooklyn accent. However, he decided against it, thinking it would be too harsh for the kids who would be hearing this character, so he took a different route, giving the character a lighter and more playful voice inspired by his portrayal of Gremio from Taming of the Shrew. Martinet kept talking until the tape ran out, and the director called Nintendo after the audition, saying that they found their Mario. Charles’ first experiences voicing Mario were at trade shows where he would have full conversations with guests as a 3D Mario head on a TV screen. He made his video game debut in 1994's Mario Teaches Typing, but most fans would come to know his iconic voice for the character in 1996's Super Mario 64. Martinet also voiced Mario's brother Luigi, Baby Mario and Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Metal Mario, Shadow Mario, Wart, Mouser, and Clawgrip, among several others. He holds the Guinness Record for most performances as the same character in one hundred different titles. Several fans and voice-over talent reacted to the news of his retirement, including the original English voice of Ash Ketchum from the Pokémon anime, Veronica Taylor:
There is no word on who has replaced Martinet, but it has been confirmed that his voice is not present in the upcoming Super Mario Wonder. This was speculated to be the case when the trailer for the game was released. Though this was not thought to be the case at the time, it appears that we may have gotten our first glimpse of our new Mario:
Thank you so much, Charles Martinet, for voicing the iconic plumber of several peoples’ childhoods for so many years. Enjoy your retirement and your new role as the ambassador for Mario!
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