Who is Charles Martinet?
Charles Martinet is the American actor who has been the voice of Mario, the iconic video game character, for several decades. Born in San Jose, California, Martinet moved to Barcelona and Paris as a child. He later studied international law at UC Berkeley before pursuing a career in acting. At Drama Studio London, he developed a talent for imitating accents, which proved essential for creating Mario's distinctive Italian-American voice.
When did Charles Martinet start voicing Mario?
In 1991, Charles Martinet was selected to provide the voice for Mario, as Nintendo was looking for a voice actor to use at trade shows and promotional events. At the time, Mario games did not feature voice acting, but Martinet's portrayal of the character was used for an interactive system called Mario in Real-Time. The first video game where Martinet voiced Mario was 1994's Mario Teaches Typing, followed by 1995's Mario's Game Gallery. However, it was in 1996's Super Mario 64 that Martinet's voice became widely known.
Why is Charles Martinet stepping down from voicing Mario?
Although Martinet is stepping back from recording character voices for Nintendo games, he will take on the role of Mario Ambassador. The exact details of this new position are not specified, but Nintendo's announcement states that Martinet will continue to travel and interact with fans, sharing the joy of Mario. The reasons for his decision are not mentioned in the announcement, but a special video message from Martinet and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto will be released in the future.
Who else did Charles Martinet voice?
Aside from Mario, Charles Martinet has also provided the voices for several other characters in the Super Mario franchise. He has voiced Mario's brother, Luigi, as well as the rivals Wario and Waluigi. Martinet has also lent his voice to special versions of Mario, such as Metal Mario, and characters like Shadow Mario and Mini-Mario Toy. In addition, he voiced Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Baby Wario in the Yoshi's Island series, and portrayed Boolossus and the Boo ghosts in the first Luigi's Mansion game.
Did Charles Martinet voice Luigi?
Yes, Charles Martinet has been the voice of Luigi, Mario's taller brother, for nearly thirty years. Luigi's voiced version first appeared in the game Mario Kart 64 in 1996. Martinet also provides the voice for Luigi in his own video game series, Luigi's Mansion.
