Scott Burns

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. Nearly a year following this release, Burns gave up the role of Bowser for unknown reasons, but he then briefly returned to the role for Mario Super Sluggers in 2008. Despite no longer taking up the role of Bowser, Burns has kept in touch with the series as one of the announcer voices in Mario Tennis Open.

In addition to the Mario franchise, Scott Burns worked for Nintendo to voice Slippy Toad's father, Beltino Toad, in Star Fox Assault. 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.

Voicing Bowser
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. Burns took the role of Bowser in Super Mario Sunshine, the first video game in which Bowser was given a speaking role beyond his growls and roars. 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." Following this role, Scott continued to feature in later games with the role of Bowser, giving him a series of throaty grunts, laughs, and exclamations new to the character who had previously simply roared and growled.

Absence and Return
Kenny James took on the role in Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. 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 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

 * Super Mario Sunshine – Bowser
 * Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour – Bowser
 * Mario Kart: Double Dash!! – Bowser
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga – Bowser
 * Mario Golf: Advance Tour – Bowser
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Bowser
 * Mario Power Tennis – Bowser
 * Mario Party 6 – Bowser
 * Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix – Bowser
 * Mario Superstar Baseball – Bowser
 * Mario Tennis: Power Tour – Bowser
 * Super Princess Peach – Bowser
 * Mario Party 7 – Bowser
 * Mario Kart DS – Bowser
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time – Bowser / Shrowser
 * Mario Hoops 3-on-3 – Bowser
 * Mario Strikers Charged – Bowser
 * Mario Party 8 – Bowser
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games – Bowser
 * Mario Party DS – Bowser
 * Mario Super Sluggers – Bowser
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games – Bowser
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Lubba / Giga Lakitu / Bowser (with Kenneth W. James)
 * Mario Sports Mix – Ninja
 * Mario Tennis Open – Bowser / Announcer
 * Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash – Announcer

Trivia

 * When creating voice clips for Bowser in games such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Super Sluggers, they were slowed down to sound deeper. However, in games such as Mario Kart DS and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, his voice clips are unaltered.
 * Despite the fact that Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Party 8 and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games all have Bowser voiced by Burns, his name is left unmentioned in the credits of these titles due to his clips being reused from earlier games.