Who is voice actor Charles Martinet?

VOICE actor, Charles Martinet is widely known as the original voice behind Nintendo's iconic character, Mario.

On August 21, 2023, Nintendo announced Charles will retire from his longtime role and now fans want to know what he'll be up to.

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Who is the voice actor Charles Martinet?

Charles Martinet is an American voice actor born on September 17, 1995, in San Diego, California.

Growing up, Charles moved around Europe having lived in Barcelona when he was 12 and later Paris to attend high school.

Charles moved back to California to study international law at the University of California, Berkeley.

However, the famed voice actor quit during his senior year and went on to pursue a career in acting.

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Charles landed an apprenticeship at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Building an impressive set of skills under his apprenticeship, Charles went on to become the founding member of the San Jose Repertory Theatre for four years.

When did Charles Martinet start working as the voice actor for Mario?

In 1991, Charles Martinet landed a gig as the voice of Nintendo's iconic character, Mario.

He almost didn't make the audition arriving while the directors were packing up.

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However, they gave him a chance and after his audition, he became the trademark voice that remains popular to this day.

Charles made his first video game appearance in 1994, however, many were introduced to the voice of Mario during the 1996 release of Super Mario 64.

What is Charles Martinet doing now?

Charles Martinet remained the voice of Mario until 2023.

On August 21, 2023, Nintendo reported on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Charles will be stepping down from his role as Mario.

In addition to announcing the news, the company revealed Charles would now take on the position of Mario Ambassador.

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Nintendo said: "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."

Additionally, Charted retweeted the post saying: "My new adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo!!!!!!!"

What other characters has Charles Martinet voiced?

Though Charles Martinet started his career voicing Mario, the California native has voiced many other characters within the franchise.

These characters include:

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• Luigi
• Wario
• Waluiji
• Metal Mario
• Shadow Mario
• Baby Mario

In the 2023 Super Mario Bros. Movie, Charles voiced Mario's dad as well as the character of Giuseppe.