Charles Martinet

Charles Martinet (born September 17, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Mario, the titular character in Nintendo's flagship video game franchise from 1991 to 2023, longer than any other actor. He also voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Wario and a select few other characters, all from the same series. He is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Career
Working for Nintendo since 1987, Martinet started voicing Mario at video game trade shows in which attendees would walk up to a TV screen displaying a 3-D Mario head that moved around the screen and talked. This system was called "Mario in Real-Time" or "MIRT". Martinet could see the attendees by means of a hidden camera setup, and a facial motion capture rig recorded his mouth movements in order to synchronize Martinet's mouth movement with the on-screen Mario mouth movement. This digital puppetry, with Martinet's comic performance, was a novelty at the time.

Martinet was told by his friend that there was going to be an audition at a trade show in which you "talk to people as a plumber". He went to the audition at the last minute as the casting directors were already putting away their equipment. Charles Martinet walked in and asked, "Can I please read for this?". The directors let him audition and told him,"You're an Italian plumber from Brooklyn". At first Martinet planned to talk like a stereotypical Italian American with a deep, raspy voice. He then thought to himself that it would be too harsh for little children to hear, so he made it more soft-hearted and friendly resulting in what Mario's voice is today. Martinet has also stated that he kept on talking with his Mario voice until the audition tape ran out.

Martinet's video game voice over debut was as Mario in the 1995 Windows release of Interplay's game Mario's FUNdamentals. However, most were first exposed to Mario's voice in the landmark 1996 game Super Mario 64. He has voiced Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi in most games where in these characters speak. He also voiced the enemies Wart, Mouser, Tryclyde, and Clawgrip in Super Mario Advance. His voice work appears in the English and Japanese-language versions of the games, although his work is always in English (regardless of the Italian references whenever he voices Mario and related characters).

Martinet also provided voiceover acting for the boxers and the announcer in the Super NES title Super Punch-Out!!. He also voiced the character Vigoro in Sega's Dreamcast and Nintendo GameCube RPG, Skies of Arcadia. He is also the voice of Homunculus in the Konami PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows game Shadow of Destiny, and provided voices for Reader Rabbit and The ClueFinders games.

Martinet has also worked as a voice actor in commercials, cartoons, and promotions. At the E3 trade show in 2005, Charles (as an Animal Crossing character) could be found roaming the virtual village featured in the playable demo of Animal Crossing: Wild World. Martinet also did Mario's voice as the voice announcer for Pac-Man Vs. on the Nintendo GameCube.

Other than the Mario series, Charles has also done work for the video game Cel Damage as the voice of Fowl Mouth, as well as the primary voice work in several educational game series such as LeapFrog.

On August 21, 2023, Nintendo of America announced on Twitter that Martinet would be retiring from providing voice acting for the Super Mario games but would continue to work with Nintendo as "Mario Ambassador".

Public appearances
As the voice of Mario, Martinet has become a well-known personality and has made public appearances at several video game related events where he meets fans for chat, photographs, and autographs. He has made regular appearances at game events such as Electronic Entertainment Expo, Gamescom, and the Eurogamer Expo, and at launch events of games like Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel.

In 2013, Martinet was evicted from his home in Sausalito following a legal dispute with the family of the recently deceased landlord. Dissastified with other homes in his pay range, Martinet remained homeless for the next 5 years, focusing his time on game events.

Filmography

 * Brotherhood of Justice (1986) (TV) .... Deputy
 * Hard Traveling (1986) .... Dist. Atty. Cobb
 * The Dead Pool (1988) .... Police Station Reporter #1
 * Midnight Caller .... Mark Heller (1 episode, 1989)
 * Matlock .... Bo Edmunds (1 episode, 1989)
 * Mom (1990) .... Mr. Hernandez
 * The Last of His Tribe (1992) (TV) .... Assistant Museum Director
 * Reasonable Doubts .... Bartender (1 episode, 1992)
 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (1993) .... Pilot B
 * Criminal Hearts (1995) (as Charles Martinez) .... Juan
 * Compromising Situations .... Sal (1 episode, 1995)
 * Nine Months (1995) .... Arnie
 * Nash Bridges .... Hermsdorf (1 episode, 1996)
 * Death in Granada (1997) .... Gravedigger
 * The Game (1997) .... Nicholas' Father
 * A Thousand Men and a Baby (1997) (TV) .... Seattle cab driver
 * Sheer Passion (1998) .... Lou
 * Air America .... David Dixon (1 episode, 1998)
 * ER .... Eddy (1 episode, 2002)
 * NYPD Blue .... Court Officer (1 episode, 2003)
 * The Californians (2005) .... City Councilman

Video games

 * ''Super Punch-Out!! (1994) .... Announcer, Referee, Boxers
 * Mario's FUNdamentals (1995) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Space Quest 6: The Spinal Frontier (1995) .... Pa Conshohocken/Ray Trace/P'Tooie
 * Solar Eclipse (1995) .... Spinner
 * Super Mario 64 (1996) .... Mario
 * Mario Kart 64 (1996) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario
 * Mario Party (1998) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario
 * Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman (1999) .... Master Suzuki
 * Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance (1999) .... Adm. Holtz
 * Super Smash Bros. (1999) .... Mario/Luigi
 * Mario Golf (1999) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario
 * Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time (1999) .... William Shakespeare/Ludwig van Beethoven
 * Slave Zero (1999) .... Old One, Sangonar
 * Mario Party 2 (1999) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario
 * Mario Tennis (2000) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Skies of Arcadia Legends (2000) .... Vigoro
 * Mario Party 3 (2000) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Shadow of Destiny (2001) .... Homunculus
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (2001) .... 2-1B, AT-AT driver/OOM-9
 * Wario Land 4 (2001) .... Wario
 * Super Mario Advance (2001) .... Mario, Luigi, Wart, Clawgrip, Tryclyde, Mouser
 * Forever Kingdom (2001) .... Darsul
 * Luigi's Mansion (2001) .... Luigi, Mario
 * Mad Dash Racing (2001)
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) .... Mario, Luigi, Dr. Mario
 * Cel Damage (2001) .... Fowl Mouth, Various
 * Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (2001) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Wario World (2002) .... Wario
 * Jet Set Radio Future (2002) .... Gouji Rokkaku
 * Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (2002) .... Bespin guard 2/Civilian Male/Imperial Officer 2/Rebel Shock
 * Troop 3 .... Voice
 * Super Mario Sunshine (2002) .... Mario, Toadsworth, some Piantas
 * Mario Party 4 (2002) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Shinobi (2002) .... Voice
 * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (2003) .... Wario
 * Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (2003) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Gladius (2003) (voice) .... Additional Voices
 * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! (2003) .... Wario
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash‼ (2003) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
 * Mario Party 5 (2003) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (2003) .... Mario, Luigi
 * The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (video game) (2003) (voice)
 * Mario Golf: Advance Tour (2004) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004) .... Mario
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004) .... Mario
 * Mario Pinball Land (2004) .... Mario
 * Mario Power Tennis (2004) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Super Mario 64 DS (2004) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario
 * Mario Party 6 (2004) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * WarioWare: Touched! (2005) .... Wario
 * Yoshi Touch & Go (2005) .... Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
 * WarioWare: Twisted! (2005) .... Wario
 * Mario Superstar Baseball (2005) .... Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth
 * SSX on Tour (2005) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Mario Kart DS (2005) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005) .... Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
 * Super Mario Strikers (2005) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario Party 7 (2005) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth
 * Super Princess Peach (2006) (voice) .... Mario, Luigi
 * New Super Mario Bros. (2006) (voice) .... Mario, Luigi
 * WarioWare: Smooth Moves (2007) .... Wario
 * Super Paper Mario (2007) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (2007) (voice)
 * Mario Strikers Charged (2007) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Wario: Master of Disguise (2007) .... Wario
 * Mario Party 8 (2007) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, MC Ballyhoo
 * World in Conflict (2007) (voice)
 * Super Mario Galaxy (2007) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, 2008) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario Party DS (2007) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Mario Kart Wii (2008) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
 * Mario Super Sluggers (2008) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi
 * Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (2008) .... Wario
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009) .... Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi
 * Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time (2009) .... Orvus
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009) .... Mario, Luigi
 * Resonance of Fate (2010) .... Lagerfeld
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) .... Mario, Luigi