Charles Andre Martinet (born September 17, 1955) is an American actor. From 1991 to 2023, Martinet was the voice of Mario in the Mario franchise. He also voiced other characters in the series such as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and the baby equivalents of Mario and Luigi, prior to retiring as voice actor to become an official brand ambassador for the series.
Charles Andre Martinet was born on September 17, 1955, in San Jose or Cupertino, California:337 to father Jacques René Pierre Martinet. The younger of two children, he has an older brother, John, though he was taller than him despite being the younger sibling, and while his brother was extroverted, Martinet was shy and more anxiety-driven than him in his youth.:20:16–20:18 His mother's family had been in the country since the Mayflower voyages,:20:26–20:36 while his father grew up in Paris, France, and Martinet's paternal grandfather served in World War I under General Pershing in order to get eligibility for American citizenship; they then came to the US when Martinet was a child. This makes him French-American.:20:37–20:51
His family moved to Barcelona, Spain when he was 12 years old, where he attended an American middle school. In 1969, after three years in Spain, they moved to Paris. He attended the American School of Paris and graduated in 1974.:338
As a young adult, Martinet became interested in international law.:338 He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in history or politics. In his senior year, he decided to discontinue his studies after a tutor told him to "regurgitate information he'd written in his book, chapter-by-chapter". When he was about 20 years old, a friend persuaded him to take acting classes:338 to combat his fear of public speaking. His first role was a monologue from the Spoon River Anthology. During his acting classes, Martinet met a classmate with a stutter. The classmate explained that his stutter had suddenly manifested the day after a stand-up comedian singled him out for public humiliation at a comedy club on his birthday. Deeply impacted by the story, Martinet committed to a personal rule that his own comedic work would never be mean-spirited or cause harm to an audience.:3:52–5:17
Martinet auditioned for and won an apprenticeship at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.:338 After training with the Berkeley Rep for several years, Martinet went to London to attend the Drama Studio London,:338 where among other skills, he discovered his talent for accents and dialects. Upon returning to California he joined the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He went on to become a founding member of the San Jose Repertory Theatre for four years.
Martinet earned the job as Mario's voice at Nintendo when, in 1991, he was on the beach and received a call from a friend who told him that there was going to be an audition at a trade show in which auditioners "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. Martinet walked in and asked, "Can I please read for this?" The directors let him and gave the description of "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 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. He says that Gremio from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew was an inspiration for his portrayal of Mario.
Working for Nintendo since 1991, Martinet started voicing Mario at video game trade shows in which attendees would walk up to a television screen displaying a 3D Mario head, which was designed to move around the screen and hold full conversations with them. This system was called Mario in Real-Time or MIRT and was developed by Pasadena based SimGraphics. Martinet could see the attendees by means of a hidden camera setup, and a facial motion capture rig recorded his mouth movements 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's first video game appearance as Mario was in the 1994 CD version of Mario Teaches Typing and formally debuted in the 1995 release of Mario's Game Gallery, where he spoke full dialogue as Mario for extended periods of time to the player.
Most were first exposed to Mario's voice in the landmark 1996 game Super Mario 64. During his time working through MIRT, Martinet became acquainted with Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Seeking a professional voice actor for Super Mario 64, Miyamoto had Nintendo contact Martinet to inquire about voicing Mario in the game. An opportunity he was not expecting, Martinet agreed immediately, making the trip from Sausalito to Bad Animals Studio in Seattle to record for the game. Mostly unscripted, Martinet was given examples of what the teams in Japan were looking for by the producers, in addition to improvisation which lead to the creation of many of Mario's catchphrases. During the recording session, it was wondered what Mario would do when the player leaves him alone. In the end, Martinet came up with the idea that Mario would dream of pasta during his sleep.[citation needed] In the final game, Mario says "night nighty. Ahhh spaghetti, ahhh ravioli, ahhh mamma mia" when in his second sleeping position.[original research?]
Following Super Mario 64, he would go on to additionally voice Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Metal Mario, Shadow Mario, Mini-Mario Toys, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in most games wherein 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. With his work as Mario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Martinet for having performed the same character in one hundred different titles, the most of any video game voice actor. Martinet also did Mario's voice as a guest character in SSX on Tour, along with Luigi, and as the announcer for Pac-Man Vs. both on the Nintendo GameCube.
In February 2021, Martinet said the possibility of reprising his role in the animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie would be a "marvelous thing" and that if he were asked to voice Mario he would "go in and play with great joy and happiness". Despite this, Chris Pratt was cast as Mario instead, though Martinet appeared briefly for cameo voices of Mario's father and a Brooklyn citizen named Giuseppe.
In addition to video game voiceovers, Martinet has worked as a voice actor in commercials, cartoons, and promotions. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show in 2005, Martinet remotely interacted with players from New York in a playable demo of Animal Crossing: Wild World. Martinet also narrated for a Hidden Valley Ranch commercial for Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise in 1994.
Other than the Mario series, Martinet 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 games for LeapFrog devices.[self-published source?] He also voiced the dragon Paarthurnax in the 2011 video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Orvus in 2009's Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, and narrated the cutscenes and menus for the 2013 video game Runner2, the 2018 video game Runner3, appearing as a hidden playable character in the latter, and the 2023 video game Bit.Trip Rerunner via update in 2026. Martinet also narrated for the 2020 Netflix docuseries High Score. Martinet provided the voice of Magenta in the English dub of the 2022 anime film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which he would later reprise his role in Dragon Ball Legends in 2023 and Dragon Ball: The Breakers in 2024 as DLC. Martinet also narrated for the 2025 film collection Ultraman 4K Discovery.
Departure from voice acting in the Mario franchise
Martinet had stated in 2021 that he wanted to voice Mario for the rest of his life, and also said that he would ask Nintendo to find a successor in the case he would think that he cannot perform the voice anymore. Following the release of the first trailer for Super Mario Bros. Wonder in June 2023, gaming publications reported widespread fan speculation that Martinet was no longer voicing Mario because the character's voice sounded different. 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". The final Mario game released prior to this that features his voice was 2022's Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, while the final project in the franchise to feature his voice was 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. On September 7, 2023, Nintendo posted a video on Twitter featuring Martinet and Miyamoto, in which Miyamoto introduced Martinet's role as Mario Ambassador and thanked him for his many years of voicing Nintendo characters.
Following his departure from voice acting for the Mario franchise, Nintendo has continued to use Martinet's archived voice recordings in certain media, such as re-releases, remasters and remakes of Super Mario games, in which he originally provided voice work, and for attractions at Super Nintendo World. Martinet's voice was also used for Mario in Real-Time at the Nintendo New York store, which enabled real-time interaction with the character using a computer-controlled system, described as the AI-VActor system, based on Martinet's recorded vocal performances.
Mario Ambassador
Martinet in 2024
"Mario Ambassador" is the brand ambassador role conferred by Nintendo to Martinet following his departure from voicing characters in the Mario franchise. The role entails promoting the Mario franchise by interacting with fans, signing autographs, and performing the voices of Mario characters at events around the world. Martinet's transition to the Mario Ambassador role was officially announced on social networking website Twitter on August 21, 2023. Martinet's role as Mario Ambassador was later elaborated upon in a video released on September 7, 2023. In the video, he expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to meet Mario fans around the world at future events.
As Mario Ambassador, Martinet has attended several fan expos and some official Nintendo events, such as Nintendo Live 2024 Sydney and Nintendo Live 2025 Tokyo. As a part of the "Super Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary", he made a guest appearance in a series of Q&A videos titled "40 Questions for Charles Martinet", which were published on the Nintendo Today! app from February to March 2026.
In June 2025, it was reported that Martinet is not allowed to perform Mario's voice at conventions. He later confirmed that he was still allowed to perform Mario's voice, but would not improvise non-Mario phrases to maintain the integrity of the character.
Public appearances
Public appearances at events
As the former 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 (2007), its sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) and Super Mario Odyssey (2017).
Mario in Real Time
Martinet frequently appeared at Nintendo promotional events and trade shows during the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s through the interactive live-performance system "Mario in Real Time" (MIRT). He portrayed Mario while interacting directly with audiences through motion-capture and voice performance technology. During the show, he also voiced other characters, including Luigi, Wario, and Donkey Kong. Because of the long shifts, Martinet suggested that Stevie Coyle take over his roles during breaks.:4:38–7:38, 14:42–23:37
Personal life
In 2013, Martinet was evicted from his home in Sausalito, California following a legal dispute with the family of the recently deceased landlord. Dissatisfied with other homes in his price range, Martinet lived a nomadic lifestyle for the next five years, focusing his time on game events.
Martinet, having spent a large portion of his youth in Europe, speaks fluent French and Spanish, as well as some Italian. He resides in the Netherlands with his partner.
↑DigitalNeohuman (1992). Real Time Mario at the 1992 SCES. YouTube. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2026. Stevie Coyle: That's Charles putting the rig on me back in 1992. He has always been The Voice Of Mario. I was there to spell him on his breaks. Unfortunate, actually, that the video was shot when I was on the rig. Charles is da man!
12"Resume". Charles Martinet. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
12345"Actor". Charles Martinet. Archived from the original on January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
↑Dutchboy (July 12, 1995). Nine Months - Arnie.avi. YouTube. 20th Century Studios. Retrieved August 1, 2026. Satpshi9801: Recently, I met Charles Martinet and asked him if he had any memories to share from [Nine Months], to which he revealed that it was him who came up with the fight that ensued. He and Tom Arnold independently shot a screen test of the idea, and then showed it to Chris Columbus who liked it and declared they would shoot it as part of the movie that coming Friday. When Friday rolled around, Chris told Charles that they were going to have the stunt coordinator inside Arnie for the fight. Charles initially protested, "But the fight was MY idea!", to which Chris replied, "Yes, but Tom can be rather rough." Charles would later see that Chris made the right call when Tom delivered a swinging hit to Arnie's eye, which happened to be in the same area as the stuntperson's eye, causing a major Arnie eye-shaped gash in the latter's eye area.
↑Martinet, Charles (2015). Charles Martinet Live Panel Q&A[Confirmation of Super Mario Sunshine roles] (Twitch Stream / Video). Event occurs at 55:35. Retrieved September 25, 2026.
↑The Learning Company (2002). StarFlyers: Royal Jewel Rescue. Scene: Closing credits, Voice Talent.
↑The Learning Company (2002). StarFlyers: Alien Space Chase. Scene: Closing credits, Voice Talent.
↑"Shinobi (2002 Video Game)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
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