Charles Martinet

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"Charles" redirects here. For information about the historical writer in Mario's Time Machine, see Charles Dickens. For the historical scientist in Mario's Time Machine, see Charles-Gaspard de la Rive. For Luigi's voice actor in The Super Mario Bros. Movie whose full first name is Charles, see Charlie Day.
Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet portrait photo, used as recently as the The Super Mario Bros. Movie cast images
Portrait of Martinet, used for the announcement of his cameo appearances in The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Full name Charles Andre Martinet
Born September 17, 1955 (age 68)
Super Mario–related role(s) Voice actor for several characters, including Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi (1991–2022)
Mario Ambassador (2023–present)
“Ah, that Charles Martinet. Nice Italian boy.”
Mario, Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Charles Martinet (last name pronounced mar-tin-AY, born September 17, 1955, in San Jose, California) is an American actor and voice actor best known for his voices in the Super Mario franchise. He voiced several characters in the franchise, including Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and some of the bosses in Super Mario Advance.[1] The Internet Movie Database attributes over 150 works to Martinet in total. In addition to English, Martinet speaks fluent French and Spanish, as well as some Italian.[2]

At the time of his audition in 1990, Martinet had never heard of Mario or Nintendo.[3] Martinet originally was not invited to audition for the role of Mario; according to him, he crashed the auditions and was asked to do an Italian accent. His recordings left so much of an impression that they were the only ones sent to Nintendo.[4] As a former Shakespearean actor, Martinet has stated that Mario's voice was based on his voice for Gremio, a character from The Taming of the Shrew.[5] Some sources have alternatively, if erroneously, cited Petruchio (actually played by John Callahan) from the same play as the inspiration.[6]

Martinet was flown to SimGraphics in South Pasadena the next day[7] to be fitted for the Mario in Real Time system, wherein he had motion sensors attached to his face, which transposed his facial movements to a computer-generated Mario head on a screen. Martinet watched people passing by the screen through a hidden camera and talked to them as Mario; this was used rather often by Nintendo for promotional events.[8] He would not start voicing Mario in games until the 1994 CD release of Mario Teaches Typing (featuring an altered form of Mario in Real Time), which, while the first confirmed game to have Mario portrayed by Martinet, has been contested by the Super Mario Bros. pinball machine in 1992,[9] although no reliable source has been given to this claim.

Martinet's voice for Mario would be solidified as standard by its usage in Super Mario 64. The non-Japanese version of Mario Kart 64 would be the first game to feature him as the voice actor for Luigi and Wario (with him having developed the former's voice when trying to minimize his mouth movements while speaking in Mario in Real Time),[10] and he went on to also voice Waluigi upon the character's introduction in Mario Tennis. Martinet has been recognized by Guinness World Records as providing the "most video game voiceover performances as the same character" (at least 100 as Mario, as of the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).[11]

Martinet would not go on to voice Mario and Luigi in the The Super Mario Bros. Movie (with the characters instead being voiced by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, respectively, in English), but he provided the voices of their father and Giuseppe in several languages.

On August 21, 2023, Nintendo announced that Martinet had stepped down from voicing characters in the Super Mario franchise, and he would be taking on the role of Mario Ambassador.[12] The final Super Mario game released prior to this that features his voice was Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (although the 2023 Summer Tour in Mario Kart Tour, which began the day after the announcement of Martinet's retirement, introduced a variant of Mario with a new voice line by him). He was succeeded by Kevin Afghani, who has voiced Mario and Luigi starting in Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Wario starting in WarioWare: Move It!.[13] However, Martinet's voice clips are still used in reissues of games that featured them originally.[14]

Portrayals[edit]

Sampled voices[edit]

  • In Super Mario 64, part of Mario's line "Here we go!" is referenced and altered for the Bob-omb Buddies' "speaking" sound.[35]
  • In Mario Kart 64, a pitched-down version of Wario's laugh is used for the Thwomps.
  • Charles Martinet provided the "Human, Laugh - Comical Laugh: Male" voice in The General Series 6000 Sound Effects Library. A sped-up version of this laugh has been used for Boos (as early as Super Mario 64), Dry Bones (as early as Super Mario Galaxy), Six-Face Sal, and Chortlebot, while a slowed-down version was used for Bowser's laugh in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS.[36]

Quotes[edit]

“I want to voice Mario until I drop dead.”
Charles Martinet, Eurogamer[37]
“I think everybody in the world has so much impact. But you know we artists here at this great SacAnime, we get to talk experience with our fans' reaction to our work over 25 years, 30 years, 31 years for me, and it's a beautiful thing. I wish every electrician could hear 'thank you very much, that plug in the kitchen every day for 30 years, we had toast, my kids had toast in the morning!' Because it is true, we have so much impact on each other, and I think as a world, people are really good. You see so much news about how terrible things are, but human beings are truly truly good. That's what I wish for the world to understand, the beauty of humankind.”
Charles Martinet, Sacramento Special Report[38]
“For me, I would never get tired of doing Mario, because if I say 'it's-a me, Super Mario!' What happens is someone smiles, and that makes it like it's the very first time I ever did it.”
Charles Martinet, Sacramento Special Report[38]

Gallery[edit]

Promotional images[edit]

Events[edit]

Miscellaneous[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • In Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., Mario Golf, and Mario Party 2, as well as the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64,[39] Martinet's surname is misspelled as "Martinee," similar to how it is pronounced.
  • In 1994's Super Punch-Out!!, Martinet voiced the majority of the boxers. In addition to this, in the same year, he offered to voice Link before being turned down by Shigeru Miyamoto.[40]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Interview with the Voice of Mario" quote from GameSpy: "And I played Wart, Clawgrip, Triclyde, Mouser, and of course Mario, in Super Mario Advance."
  2. ^ Daniel K. (September 23, 2012). Intervista a Charles Martinet (voce di Super Mario Bros.). YouTube.
  3. ^ Nintendo UK (September 14, 2015). Nintendo UK Live #6 - Charles Martinet: Super Mario Maker launch day special (Wii U). YouTube.
  4. ^ GamerSpawn (September 10, 2011). The Voice of Mario - Charles Martinet Interview. YouTube. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011, 10:40:08 UTC via Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ http://www.gooddealgames.com/interviews/int_Charles_Martinet.html
  6. ^ KISS ME, PRINCESS PEACH: ACTOR BASED SUPER MARIO'S VOICE ON HIS PERFORMANCE AS PETRUCHIO IN THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
  7. ^ Geek To Me Radio (July 18, 2022). 314-Nolan North, Charles Martinet, and Keith Coogan. YouTube.
  8. ^ https://twitter.com/CharlesMartinet/status/1493266234644779012?s=09
  9. ^ https://gonintendo.com/stories/312100-charles-martinet-confirms-that-voiced-mario-for-the-1992-super-ma
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ Twitter post by Charles Martinet
  12. ^ https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1693624002982314108
  13. ^ https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-confirms-charles-martinet-is-not-involved-in-super-mario-bros-wonder
  14. ^ a b gonintendo (August 22, 2023). Switch release of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon to retain Charles Martinet's work gonintendo. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  15. ^ File:Pianta confirmation Martinet.jpgMedia:Pianta confirmation Martinet.jpg
  16. ^ File:Pianta confirmation Martinet Burns.jpgMedia:Pianta confirmation Martinet Burns.jpg
  17. ^ GameXplain (March 18, 2021). We Meet Mario, Luigi, & Princess Peach @ Super Nintendo World...Who TALK! YouTube. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  18. ^ Universal Parks News Today (February 4, 2021). Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge FULL RIDE WITH AR & QUEUE TOUR - Super Nintendo World. YouTube. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  19. ^ https://www.eldoblatge.com/fitxa/5990
  20. ^ Dit zijn de Vlaamse stemmen van The Super Mario Movie - Moviepulp
  21. ^ The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Finnkino. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  22. ^ Super Mario Bros. le film | Forum du Doublage Québécois
  23. ^ https://www.synchronkartei.de/film/55103
  24. ^ Super Mario Bros.: A film (The Super Mario Bros. Movie). DVDNews. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  25. ^ Italian cast. Il Mondo dei Doppiatori. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  26. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQSTOCgfS8c&t=390
  27. ^ 偉憶數位錄音 We Digital Media Co., Ltd,'s post on Facebook
  28. ^ https://www.centralcomics.com/super-mario-bros-o-filme-as-vozes-portuguesas/
  29. ^ SUPER MARIO BRAĆA FILM (THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE) - SINHRONIZOVANI TREJLER G
  30. ^ https://www.eldoblaje.com/datos/FichaPelicula.asp?id=68673
  31. ^ Super Mario Bros. Filmen | Dubbningshemsidan
  32. ^ https://www.facebook.com/DubLoverPierrot/posts/pfbid02CYoptifTxwCzKVgAPqQzKTaLjYKvgVbUn6ou6NYYwDeMfkczABQQmbTb1xpa5vJNl
  33. ^ https://kinobaza.com.ua/titles/super-mario-movie
  34. ^ Trang này lưu trữ danh sách diễn viên lồng tiếng hoạt hình chiếu rạp (April 5, 2023). Phim Anh Em Super Mario (2023) Studio: Đạt Phi Media. Facebook. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  35. ^ "The Bob-omb Buddy Sound is Mario's Voice" - YouTube video by Crazy900's Vid Vault
  36. ^ File:Charles Martinet and the Comical Laugh Pt 2.pngMedia:Charles Martinet and the Comical Laugh Pt 2.png
  37. ^ Charles Martinet: "I want to voice Mario until I drop dead" / "I'm not going anywhere for a long time!". Fangamer. Tom Phillips. Published Oct 26, 2021
  38. ^ a b Charles Martinet Interview: "Mario Never Says No". Sacramento Special Report. Published Sep 10, 2022
  39. ^ https://tcrf.net/Mario_Kart_64#Credits_Differences
  40. ^ Convention Coverage (February 10, 2023). Charles Martinet Got This Response When He Pitched The Idea Of Voicing Link In The Legend Of Zelda. YouTube.

External links[edit]