Charles Martinet is “stepping back” from his role as the voice of Nintendo’s Mario, the company announced Monday, over 30 years after Martinet was brought on as the original voice actor for the video game character.
Charles Martinet was hired by Nintendo in 1991.
Martinet—who was hired by Nintendo in 1991—will no longer record “character voices for our games” and will transition into the role of “Mario Ambassador,” according to Nintendo, which said Martinet will “continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario.”
The announcement follows speculation that Martinet had been replaced by Nintendo as the voice for Mario for its October release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, after some fans suggested Mario’s voice sounded different in promotional videos for the game.
Nintendo noted that CEO Shigeru Miyamoto and Martinet will release a “special video message” following the announcement at an unspecified date.
Martinet, 67, also voiced several other characters for the video game franchise, including Luigi, Wario and Waluigi.
Martinet said he based his voice for Mario on Petruchio, a character from Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.
“I want to voice Mario until I drop dead,” Martinet said during a video game convention in 2021. “If someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will tell Nintendo to look into finding someone else.”
Martinet’s voice was first featured as Mario in a video game in 1994, following the release of Nintendo’s Mario Teaches Typing. Martinet was previously featured in trade shows the company attended, in which people could hold full conversations with Mario through a television screen, according to the BBC. In 1996, Martinet voiced Mario for Nintendo’s Super Mario 64, and continued to voice the character and others for the Super Mario Bros. franchise through Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope, which was released last year. It’s estimated that Martinet voiced Mario more than 100 times. Nintendo has not confirmed whether he will be the voice of Mario for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which releases in October. Martinet has been featured in other video games and animated series, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Dragon Ball Z franchise.
The Voice Of Mario Is Stepping Away From The Character (The Verge)