The voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, is retiring
The voice actor behind Mario, the iconic Nintendo character who’s been in almost every major game since the 16-bit era, is retiring from the role. Charles Martinet, who first took on the role of the mustachioed plumber in 1996, will no longer record character voices for Nintendo’s games, but will remain a “Mario ambassador” going forward. The news comes as the next Super Mario Bros. game, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, nears release.
As the voice of Mario, Martinet has lent his voice to a number of games in the Mario Kart and Mario Party series, as well as the recent Super Mario Bros. movie.
Last year’s Super Mario Bros. movie featured Chris Pratt as Mario, marking the first time the character had a non-Italian voice actor. Martinet has recorded the character’s voice since 1996’s Super Mario 64, which helped establish the iconic portrayal of the character. The upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wonder game, however, features a different, unnamed voice actor.
“I will no longer be recording any new character voices for Nintendo,” Martinet says in a video announcement. “But I will be a Mario ambassador, and I will be promoting the Mario brand worldwide.”
Martinet is 67 years old, and despite earlier comments from Nintendo, it appears that the company is no longer recording character voice for its games. Martinet thanked his fans on social media, saying he was “excited about my new adventure.”
Martinet has provided voices for a number of other characters in the Mario series, including Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and the baby versions. Despite vocal criticisms from some fans, Martinet has brought a sense of fun and enthusiasm to Mario that has made the character synonymous with fun and joy.
You can see Martinet’s first role as Mario in the original Super Mario Bros. below:
Nintendo says it will release a special video message from Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, to mark his retirement.
Check out our breakdown of everything we know about the upcoming Mario game. You can also get ahead of the curve with the newest Mario Kart 8 Deluxe update, which adds a new playable character.
