Charles Martinet has explained the meaning behind his new role as Mario ambassador after stepping down from voicing the iconic character last month.
06.09.2023 - 15:27 / destructoid.com / Mario
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.
This video posted yesterday from Galaxy Con Austin is the closest we’ve come to getting an idea of what’s actually going on here. The first thing to note is Charles Martinet can still do the voice. He effortlessly, and maybe even unconsciously, goes in and out of it throughout the interview. Also early on, he makes a point about how when acting, it’s best not to think about if you’re doing it “right” or not, or if the people you are auditioning for like what you’re doing. It’s better, he says, to just be in the moment and fully embody the character that you’re playing, which for Mario, means being “silly and fantastic and having fun”. You can see why he loves what he does (or did, depending on where things go from here.)
Then at around 11:30 the topic of being a Mario Ambassador comes up. Martinet says:
“So I’m now, you may have seen the news, I’m a Mario Ambassador. I don’t know what that is yet [laughs]. I’m not retired as it were, as I don’t know how… but I’m an ambassador, and as we step into the future, we’ll learn, we’ll all learn, what exactly that is. But in the meantime, I’ll be ambassiding as I always am. I’m always an ambassador of Nintendo and Mario at all these events because I just cherish every moment of it. And I hope your love of the games continues and grows the way mine does, so [Mario Voice] Thank you so much![/Mario Voice]. Now lets ask a couple questions, go ahead, but don’t ask me about the ambassadorship. I don’t know anything about it! And don’t ask me about the movie because I haven’t seen it yet. Don’t tell me what happens!”
To me, this does not sound like a guy who decided to stop playing the role of Mario. But knowing Charles, he wouldn’t want to cast a shadow of negativity over Nintendo, Mario, or anything else by saying he was “forcibly retired” or outright fired from the role. And it’s possible an NDA is holding him back from saying more as well. To be frank, I’m not expecting to hear a lot more from Martinet or Nintendo on this. The time to explain what happened has come and gone. At
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.
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".
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.»
It was a surprise to fans worldwide when we discovered that the iconic character, Mario, would receive a new voice actor. Nintendo’s flagship character had been voiced for decades by Charles Martinet. This actor has been offering his talents to Nintendo to give Mario those iconic phrases fans have become familiar with. But after his lengthy run, it looks like Charles was ready to hang up his cap and pass the torch. Unfortunately, we’re not sure just who that torch has been passed on to.
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.