Scott Burns

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"Scott" redirects here. For information about the character in Pipe Down!, see Todd, Justin, Scott and Ashby.
Scott Burns
Professional image of Scott Burns unrelated to Nintendo or the Super Mario series.
Super Mario–related role(s) Voice actor for Toadsworth, Lubba, King Lakitu, Ninja, and Shrowser; current voice actor for Mario Tennis announcer; former voice actor for Bowser

Scott Burns is the voice actor who provided the voice of Bowser starting with Super Mario Sunshine in 2002 and continuing until Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games in 2007. He also provided the voice of Toadsworth.[1] Nearly a year following this release, Burns gave up the role of Bowser over a union dispute,[2] but he then briefly returned to both of his roles for Mario Super Sluggers in 2008. Despite no longer taking up the role of Bowser, some of Burns' portrayals have been reused in later games, such as the announcer from Mario Power Tennis in later installments of the Mario Tennis series.

In addition to the Super Mario franchise, Scott Burns worked for Nintendo to voice Slippy Toad's father, Beltino Toad, in English versions of Star Fox Assault.[3] Aside from Nintendo, Burns has also worked for Microsoft, McDonald's, and Boeing. Scott Burns considers himself most suited for characters between the ages of twenty-nine and forty-nine, but claims to be able to voice young adult, middle aged, and senior male characters.[4]

History with the Super Mario franchise[edit]

Voicing Bowser[edit]

Scott Burns began his career at the suggestion of another voice actor and gained notability through his ability to impersonate people and characters such as Clint Eastwood and Popeye.[4] Burns took the role of Bowser in Super Mario Sunshine, the first Nintendo game where Bowser was given spoken dialogue. However, the title's voice acting was panned by many, including Gamespot reviewer Jeff Gerstmann, who criticized the title as having "some of the lousiest voice-over work to be found on the GameCube. None of the voices fit particularly well.... [Bowser and Bowser Jr.] are completely miscast and downright disappointing."[5] Scott continued to voice Bowser in later games, giving unique grunts, laughs, and reactions to a character whose voice in previous Nintendo games had consisted only of sampled sounds. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, he also voiced Shrowser.

Absence and return[edit]

Kenny James took on the role of Bowser in Super Mario Strikers, Super Mario Galaxy, and Mario Kart Wii. Amidst these titles, however, Scott retook the role in Mario Super Sluggers and his voice clips from previous sports titles are recycled in later ones such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (where James instead plays Dry Bowser) and Mario Tennis Open. Since 2010, Burns has also played various other roles in the series, such as Lubba. However in Super Mario Galaxy 2, he also shared the role of Bowser with Kenny James.

Portrayals[edit]

Trivia[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Confirmation from Scott Burns via e-mail.
  2. ^ Thomas Game Docs. (May 12, 2021). Why doesn't Bowser's voice sound like it used to? YouTube. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Star Fox Assault (2005) (VG). The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Character, Offbeat, Dad, Guy Next Door. Voice123. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  5. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff. Super Mario Sunshine Review. GameSpot. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d e Confirmation from Scott Burns via e-mail.