Kenny James
| Kenny James | |
|---|---|
| |
| Full name | Kenneth Wendell James |
| Born | July 14, 1963[1] (age 63) |
| Super Mario–related role | Current voice actor for Bowser and Dry Bowser |
- “When performing Bowser in the studio I tend to make claw hands. Somehow it helps me sound like a monster!”
- —Kenny James
Kenneth Wendell "Kenny" James is the current voice actor for Bowser, replacing Scott Burns. His debut was in Super Mario Strikers in 2005, in which he voiced Bowser and the Super Team, and he has voiced Bowser regularly since Super Mario Galaxy in 2007. Despite this, the voice of Scott Burns (James's predecessor) was still sometimes used for Bowser in subsequent games such as Mario Strikers Charged, Mario Party DS, Mario Super Sluggers, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, Mario Tennis Open, and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX.
In 2009, James returned to voice Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. In 2010, James continued to voice Bowser in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Mario Sports Mix. As of now, he is the only voice actor of Bowser and continues to voice the character, as well as having voiced Dry Bowser (as of Mario Kart Wii), Paper Bowser, Mini Bowser, Dark Bowser, Dreamy Bowser, and Meowser.
Kenny James does not voice Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with Jack Black voicing the character instead. However, Bowser's grunts heard during his conversation with Kamek and when he breaks free from the ice, as well as one of his roars during the final battle in Brooklyn, are reused voice clips of James's portrayal of Bowser. This would later be done again for at least two scenes involving Bowser in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, when Bowser returns to normal size after provoking Mario into stomping him and making him big again, and shortly after Bowser becomes Dry Bowser due to falling in the lava.
History[edit]
Kenneth W. James was born in Nevada, but he grew up in Texas. In 1988, James began singing and was later the lead singer in several bands before becoming active in community theater. In 2001, James started doing voiceover work, with Bowser being one of the first roles for which he auditioned and was chosen.
James has been a fan of video games since playing the arcade game Pong. His first Nintendo games were Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on the NES, and he later played more games on that system. Outside of video games, James has voiced characters in two different online Doctor Who audio series and has done several other audio books. When portraying Bowser, James often makes claw hands to help him sound like a monster.
Portrayals[edit]
All games listed include any ports and re-releases.
- Super Mario Strikers – Bowser / Super Team[2]
- Super Mario Galaxy – Bowser
- Mario Kart Wii – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story – Bowser / Dark Bowser
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games – Dry Bowser
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Bowser
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Bowser
- Mario Sports Mix – Bowser
- Super Mario 3D Land – Bowser / Dry Bowser / Tail Bowser
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Fortune Street – Bowser
- Mario Kart 7 – Bowser
- Mario Party 9 – Bowser
- Mario Tennis Open – Dry Bowser
- New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star – Bowser
- New Super Mario Bros. U – Bowser
- New Super Luigi U – Bowser
- Mario & Luigi: Dream Team – Bowser / Dreamy Bowser
- Mario Kart Arcade GP DX – Dry Bowser
- Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games — Bowser / Dry Bowser / Tail Bowser
- Super Mario 3D World – Bowser / Meowser
- Bowser's Fury – Bowser / Fury Bowser
- Mario Party: Island Tour – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Yoshi's New Island – Bowser
- Mario Golf: World Tour – Bowser
- Mario Kart 8 – Bowser / Dry Bowser / Lava Bowser
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Bowser
- Mario Party 10 – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Super Mario Maker – Bowser
- Skylanders: SuperChargers – Hammer Slam Bowser
- Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam – Bowser / Paper Bowser / Dry Bowser / Shiny RoboBowser
- Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge – Mini Bowser
- Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – Bowser / Dry Bowser
- Paper Mario: Color Splash – Bowser / Black Bowser
- Mario Party: Star Rush – Bowser
- Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS – Bowser (reused from Super Mario Maker)
- Mario Sports Superstars – Bowser (in all sports except Tennis, which uses voice clips from Scott Burns)
- Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle – Bowser / MegaDragonBowser
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions – Bowser / Bowletta
- Super Mario Odyssey – Bowser
- Mario Party: The Top 100 – Bowser
- Mario Tennis Aces – Bowser (shared with Scott Burns) / Dry Bowser
- Super Mario Party – Bowser
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey – Bowser / Dark Bowser
- Super Mario Maker 2 – Bowser / Meowser
- Mario Kart Tour – Bowser / Dry Bowser / Meowser
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Bowser
- Paper Mario: The Origami King – Bowser
- Super Nintendo World – Bowser / Lava Bowser (Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge)
- Mario Golf: Super Rush – Bowser
- Mario Party Superstars – Bowser
- Mario Strikers: Battle League – Bowser
- Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope – Bowser
- The Tower of Doooom – Bowser
- The Last Spark Hunter – Bowser
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Bowser (some grunts and roars only)
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Bowser / Castle Bowser
- Super Mario RPG – Bowser
- Super Mario Party Jamboree – Bowser / Impostor Bowser
- Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Bowser
- Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo – Bowser
- Mario Kart World – Bowser
- LEGO Super Mario – Castle Bowser[3]
- Mario Tennis Fever – Bowser (shared with Scott Burns) / Dry Bowser
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Bowser (some grunts and roars only)
- Yoshi and the Mysterious Book – Bowser
Gallery[edit]
Notes[edit]
- Kenny James's favorite game on the Wii is Mario Kart Wii.[4]
- During a 2012 recording session for Super Mario 3D World, after recording for Bowser, he had to record for Meowser afterwards. Whilst coming up with various Bowser-like meows and roars, Kenny James strained his voice so badly that he could taste blood as voicing Bowser hurts his voice, and he had been recording both Bowser and Meowser for two hours each.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ Kenny's Instagram post
- ^ Popverse (September 11, 2019). Super Mario Cast feat. Charles Martinet, Samantha Kelly, & Kenny James. YouTube. Retrieved June 14, 2025.
- ^ Happy Doddy (August 1, 2025). 2025 LEGO Prince Florian & Castle Bowser Set | 72042 | LEGO Super Mario Instructions. YouTube. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
- ^ As confirmed via email by Kenny James: "My first Nintendo games were Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt. Then I really liked playing the games on the Super NES. My favorite on the Wii is Mario Kart Wii. I have to admit I haven't played 3D World. I'd love to see how the Cat Bowser turned out. During recording we called him Meowser". (March 20, 2016)
- ^ “Bowser is no easy character to voice, especially (Meowser,) he was the most difficult in a way that I could taste blood when I was finished with the recording session,” he told Arab News Japan. – August 19, 2020. Kenny James: The man behind the voice of ‘Bowser’ from Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise. Arab News Japan. Retrieved November 6, 2024.