Nintendo’s Charles Martinet to retire from voicing Mario
Charles Martinet, 67, known for voicing the character Mario, will retire from his iconic role, Nintendo has announced.
He will transition into the new role of Mario Ambassador.
Martinet first voiced Mario at tradeshows in the early 1990s.
The first video game Martinet would voice Mario was in 1994’s ‘Mario Teaches Typing’.
In 1996, Mario would have his big breakthrough with ‘Super Mario 64’
Martinet has voiced other Nintendo characters, including Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, and more.
He has also voiced characters in other franchises, including in 2011’s ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’.
In a message posted to X, formerly Twitter, Nintendo thanked Martinet for voicing Mario for over 30 years.
“Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64. Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!
“It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him. Please keep an eye out for a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles himself, which we will post at a future date.”
In a message posted on his own X profile, Charles Martinet said “My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!”
Nintendo confirmed to Eurogamer that Martinet will not voice either Mario or Luigi in the upcoming ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder’, set to release on October 20.
The company has not revealed the name of the new voice actor or actors yet.
Martinet’s last time as Mario was in 2022’s ‘Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope’.
The actor was also featured in the 2023 film ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, as a character called Giuseppe and as Mario and Luigi’s father.
Chris Pratt took on the voice role of Mario in the film, a choice that proved controversial with audiences.
