Nintendo has revealed that Charles Martinet, the original voice actor for Nintendo’s iconic character Mario, is stepping back from the role.
Is Charles Martinet finished voicing Mario in video games?
In a tweet posted by Nintendo of America this morning, the company stated that Martinet is “stepping back” from voicing the character and now has the role of “Mario Ambassador.” The statement also notes that a related video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles Martinet will be posted at a later date.
The full statement reads:
“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.”
Martinet himself quoted the Nintendo tweet and said, “My new adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo!!!!!!!”
In terms of games, Martinet first played Mario in the CD-ROM version of Mario Teaches Typing in 1994. Since then, he’s been the main voice actor for the character in over 150 titles. Martinet cameoed as the voice of Giuseppe and the voice of Mario’s father in this year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which saw Chris Pratt voice the iconic plumber.
