Charles Martinet has explained the meaning behind his new role as Mario ambassador after stepping down from voicing the iconic character last month.
05.09.2023 - 16:39 / pcgamer.com / Charles Martinet / Doug Bowser / Mario
Nintendo of America recently announced that Charles Martinet would be hanging up his cap as the voice of Mario, a role he's occupied the goomba-stomping boots of since 1996. Nintendo of America announced the transition via a post on Twitter/X last month, revealing he'd be «moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador.»
Thanks to a report from Nintendoeverything, however, we now know that he's still finding out what that entails. Martinet spoke on the role during Galaxycon Austin 2023: «I am now a Mario Ambassador. I don’t know what that is yet. I’m not retired as it were, but I’m an ambassador. As we step forward into the future, we’ll all learn exactly what that is … I'm always an ambassador of Nintendo and Mario at all of these events, because I just cherish every moment of it.»
The president of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, also spoke with IGN recently about the role: «Well, Charles has obviously been a voice actor with us for quite some time, and as we look for ways to keep Charles involved in Nintendo's business, we thought this was a very nice transition for him. And Charles is very excited about it … we look forward to having him continue to represent Nintendo and importantly the Mushroom Kingdom as we go forward.»
It does feel like a vague title with an appropriately vague description. We can probably rule out the typical governmental duties of an ambassador, as the Mushroom Kingdom is not an officially recognized nation, and Mario isn't the head of state. If anything, that'd be Princess Peach. Still, as Martinet says above, it'll probably involve much of what he's already been doing—going to events, praising the gospel of Mario and his fun little wahoo's, and being an all-round ray of sunshine.
While Martinet's known for voicing Mario, Luigi, and Wario among others—he also has a beefy portfolio behind him from over 30 years of work in the industry. He's lent his talents to Skyrim as beloved dragon bro Paarthurnax, and I'm just now finding out he was in Jet Set Radio Future as Gouji Rokkaku—his chops are beyond question at this point.
I'm relieved that his reduction in Super Mario responsibilities doesn't mean he'll be retiring entirely, though. Hearing him talk about his favourite experiences from his career, it's clear he has a deep love of acting that won't be lets-a-going anywhere soon: «every time I'm [voice acting], it's been so much fun—being in the studio, working with people I love, having a great time, creativity and joy … to me, any time I'm in a studio is like a blessing in life.»
Charles Martinet has explained the meaning behind his new role as Mario ambassador after stepping down from voicing the iconic character last month.
Last month, Nintendo revealed longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet will no longer voice the character. The company stopped short of revealing who is taking over the role, although it did say we’d find out in the upcoming release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which does not feature Martinet as Mario.
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto has shed more light on Charles Martinet's new role as a Mario Ambassador.
As we all know by now, Charles Martinet, the legendary voice of Mario and other Nintendo characters, is stepping back from his role as a voice actor for video games and Is going to transition to a new role as “Mario Ambassador.” Today, Martinet and Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, released a video in which they acknowledged the transition and had a little fun with one another despite not being on screen together. In it, they promised that Martinet would still be around and would still be a part of the brand as he’d spread the joy of Mario as he travels around the world.
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
After stepping down as the voice of Mario and preparing for his new role as Mario Ambassador, Charles Martinet has a message for fans. With help from creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the longtime voice of Mario took a moment to introduce his new role and gush about how much he loves all the people who have supported him as Mario over the years.
Charles Martinet and Shigeru Miyamoto have explained Martinet’s new role as ‘Mario Ambassador’.
Nintendo has shared a video of Charles Martinet saying goodbye to his role as Mario, as well as revealing that he calls Shigeru Miyamoto "papa".
Years ago I met Charles Martinet at E3. We shot a quick video where I said “It’s a-you?” and he shrieked “It’s a-me!” in the voice. I was so taken aback that I said “Holy Sh*t!” – He immediately took me aside and asked me not to post the video, as it would be inappropriate for children. We ended up posting it anyway, with my swear bleeped out, and it was a cute, hopefully inoffensive bit of fun. But what I really took away from that moment is how much Charles Martinet cares about his fans. He wants to fill their hearts with hope and joy, and not whatever the opposite of those two things is. That may be why we still haven’t heard exactly why he’s no longer the voice of Mario in the games.
We may have heard Mario and Luigi’s new voices in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but Nintendo will not be confirming who is voicing them until the game’s release, according to Nintendo president Doug Bowser.
Voice actor Charles Martinet, who provided the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and other iconic characters for decades, has spoken publicly about his new 'Mario Ambassador' role, and has revealed that he’s not entirely sure what it will consist of yet, either.
Mario Ambassador Charles Martinet is still unsure what his new role actually entails.