Charles Martinet Steps Down as Voice of Mario After 22 Years

Nintendo announced on Aug. 21 that Charles Martinet, the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games, will no longer voice the character moving forward.

“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,” Nintendo announced on social media.

“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.”

Charles Martinet Steps Down as Voice of Mario After 22 Years

Martinet has a long storied career in video game voiceover work outside of Mario. He’s also voiced Luigi, Wario, Waluigi and others in Nintendo titles.

What was the Last Mario Title Charles Martinet Worked on?

Martinet last lent his voice to the iconic character in Mario Strikers: Battle League and Mario + Rabbids Spark of Hope. He also voiced Luigi, Wario and Waluigi in the former and Luigi in the latter.

Was Charles Martinet in the Super Mario Bros. Movie?

Yes, he in fact was despite Chris Pratt and Charlie Day voicing Mario and Luigi respectively in the recently released animated feature film. His voice can be heard by a cameo character playing the original Donkey Kong arcade cabinet.

Who Will Voice Mario Next?

Martinet’s successor has yet to be announced. Nintendo is rightfully honoring Martinet’s long career as the voice of one of video gaming’s most iconic characters.