Who is Charles Martinet? Voice actor behind Nintendo's Mario retires at 67

Charles Martinet, the American actor and the iconic voice behind Mario in Nintendo games, has retired from his role. Martinet, 67, has been the original voice behind both Mario and Luigi in the Super Mario video game series from 1991. Nintendo, who owns the Mario video game, shared a statement on Monday announcing Martinet’s retirement.

"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!" the statement read.

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Martinet also voiced other characters in the game like Wario and Waluigi.

Charles Martinet: From fear of public speaking to discovering his hidden talent

Charles Andre Martinet was born in San Jose, California. His father’s family had immigrated from France to the US shortly after World War I.

Martinet attended the University of California, Berkeley but soon after in his senior year, he gave up on his studies. On a friend’s suggestion, he took acting classes to combat his fear of public speaking. His first role was a monologue from the Spoon River Anthology.

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Eventually, Martinet earned an apprenticeship at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. After training with the Berkeley Rep for several years, Martinet went to London to attend the Drama Studio London. Here among other skills, he discovered his talent for accents and dialects.

How Charles Martinet became the voice of Mario

Martinet earned the job as Mario's voice at Nintendo when, one day, he was told by his friend that there was going to be an audition at a trade show. He went to the audition at the last minute.

During the audition, Martinet improvised his harsh natural voice with a stereotypical Italian American accent to a much more soft-hearted and friendly voice. This voice eventually became the voice of Mario.

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In 1991, Martinet started voicing Mario at video game trade shows. His first appearance in the video game Mario was in the 1994 DC version of Mario Teaches Typing and formally debuted in the 1995 release of Mario’s Game Gallery.

Most were first exposed to Mario's voice in the landmark 1996 game Super Mario 64.

Martinet’s voice will feature in the re-release of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon in HD, which is set to release in 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)

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