Charles Martinet

Charles Andre Martinet{{Cite web |last=O'Hara |first=Helen |date=November 6, 2021 |title=Chris Pratt playing Garfield and Mario isn't 'Italian erasure' but it is bad news for Hollywood's voice actors |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/chris-pratt-playing-garfield-mario-italian-erasure-bad-news-voice-actors-1284377 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=i |archive-date=August 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807150322/https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/chris-pratt-playing-garfield-mario-italian-erasure-bad-news-voice-actors-1284377 |url-status=live }} was born on September 17, 1955,{{Cite tweet |user=CharlesMartinet |number=1036240736524496902 |url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220507174733/https://twitter.com/CharlesMartinet/status/1036240736524496902 |archive-date=May 7, 2022| title=Eyippee! Thank you so much!}} in San Jose or Cupertino, California{{Rp|page=337}} to father Jacques René Pierre Martinet.{{Cite web |last=Fuentes |first=Zach |date=August 17, 2024 |orig-date=August 17, 2024 |title=1st GalaxyCon launches in San Jose, bringing in thousands to city |url=https://abc7news.com/post/1st-galaxycon-launches-san-jose-bringing-thousands-city/15194406/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822192249/https://abc7news.com/post/1st-galaxycon-launches-san-jose-bringing-thousands-city/15194406/ |archive-date=August 22, 2024 |access-date=September 9, 2024 |website=ABC7 San Francisco |language=en}} The younger of two children, he has an older brother, John, though he was taller than him despite being the younger sibling, and while his brother was extroverted, Charles was shy and more anxiety-driven than him in his youth. {{Cite web |author=((OG Daniel-San86)) |date=Jan 10, 2014 |title=Steve Blum And Charles Martinet Q&A Panel - Pt. 2 of 2 Sac-Anime Winter 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzEsygrdyGU |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718013043/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzEsygrdyGU&t=1744s |archive-date=2023-07-18 |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=YouTube}}{{Rp|location=20:16–20:18}}{{Cite web |last=Huguenor |first=Mike |date=Dec 5, 2018 |title=Super Speech: Charles Martinet turned a minor Shakespearean role into one of the most recognized voices in video game history |url=https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/super-speech/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011213419/https://www.metrosiliconvalley.com/super-speech/ |archive-date=2023-10-11 |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=Metro Silicon Valley |language=en-US}} His mother's family had been in the country since the Mayflower voyages,{{Rp|location=20:26–20:36}} while his father grew up in Paris, France, and Martinet's paternal grandfather served in World War I under General Pershing in order to get eligibility for American citizenship; they then came to the US when Martinet was a child. This makes him French-American.{{Rp|location=20:37–20:51}}

His family moved to Barcelona, Spain when he was 12 years old, where he attended an American middle school.{{cite web |title=CHARLES MARTINET |url=http://www.sacanime.com/?page_id=5436 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402105732/http://www.sacanime.com/?page_id=5436 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=March 11, 2015 |website=SacAnime}} In 1969, after three years in Spain, they moved to Paris. As a result, he became fluent in Spanish and French; he can also speak a little bit of Italian.{{Rp|page=337}} He attended the American School of Paris and graduated in 1974.{{Rp|page=338}}

As a young adult, Martinet became interested in international law.{{Rp|page=338}} He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in history or politics. In his senior year, he decided to discontinue his studies after a tutor told him to "regurgitate information he'd written in his book, chapter-by-chapter".{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=October 1, 2012 |title=The actors hiding inside your video games |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-19664003 |url-status=live |access-date=March 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150422005227/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-19664003 |archive-date=April 22, 2015}} When he was about 20 years old, a friend persuaded him to take acting classes{{Rp|page=338}} to combat his fear of public speaking. His first role was a monologue from the Spoon River Anthology.{{cite web |last=Regina |first=Steven |title=Super Martinet Sunshine |url=http://www.theswervemagazine.com/Charles_Martinet_Wizard_World_Pittsburgh_November_4-6_Super_Mario_The_Swerve_Magazine.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405215317/http://www.theswervemagazine.com/Charles_Martinet_Wizard_World_Pittsburgh_November_4-6_Super_Mario_The_Swerve_Magazine.html |archive-date=2023-04-05 |access-date=March 11, 2015 |website=The Swerve Magazine}}

Martinet auditioned for and won an apprenticeship at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.{{Rp|page=338}} After training with the Berkeley Rep for several years, Martinet went to London to attend the Drama Studio London,{{Rp|page=338}} where among other skills, he discovered his talent for accents and dialects. Upon returning to California he joined the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He went on to become a founding member of the San Jose Repertory Theatre for four years.

Martinet earned the job as Mario's voice at Nintendo when one day in 1991, he was on the beach and received a call from a friend who told him that there was going to be an audition at a trade show in which auditioneers "talk to people as a plumber". He went to the audition at the last minute as the casting directors were already putting away their equipment. Charles Martinet walked in and asked, "Can I please read for this?". The directors let him audition and told him, "You're an Italian plumber from Brooklyn". At first Martinet planned to talk like a stereotypical Italian American with a deep, raspy voice. He then thought to himself that it would be too harsh for children to hear, so he made it more soft-hearted and friendly, resulting in what Mario's voice is today. Martinet has also stated that he kept on talking with his Mario voice until the audition tape ran out. He says that Gremio from William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew was an inspiration for his portrayal of Mario.

Working for Nintendo since 1991, Martinet started voicing Mario at video game trade shows in which attendees would walk up to a TV screen displaying a 3-D Mario head that was designed to move around the screen and hold full conversations with them. This system was called Mario in Real-Time or MIRT and was developed by Pasadena based SimGraphics. Martinet could see the attendees by means of a hidden camera setup, and a facial motion capture rig recorded his mouth movements to synchronize Martinet's mouth movement with the on-screen Mario mouth movement. This digital puppetry, with Martinet's comic performance, was a novelty at the time.{{cite book |last=Ryan |first=Jeff |date=2012 |title=Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_JvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 |location=London, England |publisher=Portfolio / Penguin |page=137 |isbn=978-1-59184-563-8 |access-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-date=August 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829191634/https://books.google.com/books?id=9_JvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 |url-status=live }}

Martinet's first video game appearance as Mario was in the 1994 CD version of Mario Teaches Typing and formally debuted in the 1995 release of Mario's Game Gallery, where he spoke full dialogue as Mario for extended periods of time to the player.{{cite news |last=Crumlish |first=Callum |date=August 13, 2022 |title=Super Mario Movie star 'humbled' by Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero role |work=Daily Express |url=https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1654780/super-mario-movie-charles-martinet-dragon-ball-super-super-hero |access-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304170928/https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1654780/super-mario-movie-charles-martinet-dragon-ball-super-super-hero |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=12 Weird Mario Games You May Have Missed |work=Twinfinite |last=Cocking |first=Tony |date=January 3, 2023 |url=https://twinfinite.net/2023/01/weird-mario-games/ |access-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-date=March 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304170929/https://twinfinite.net/2023/01/weird-mario-games/ |url-status=live }}

Most were first exposed to Mario's voice in the landmark 1996 game Super Mario 64.{{Cite web |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2022/03/10/charles-martinet-on-30-years-of-voicing-nintendos-beloved-mario-its-such-an-honour/ |title=Charles Martinet on 30 years of voicing Nintendo's beloved Mario: 'It's such an honour' |date=March 10, 2022 |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=The National News |last=Lau |first=Evelyn |archive-date=August 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829191641/https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2022/03/10/charles-martinet-on-30-years-of-voicing-nintendos-beloved-mario-its-such-an-honour/ |url-status=live }} During his time working through MIRT, Martinet became acquainted with Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Seeking a professional voice actor for Super Mario 64, Miyamoto had Nintendo contact Martinet to inquire about voicing Mario in the game.{{Cite web|url=https://shmuplations.com/mario64/|title=Super Mario 64 – 1996 Developer Interviews|website=Shmuplations|access-date=April 16, 2023|archive-date=September 29, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210929071918/http://shmuplations.com/mario64/|url-status=live}} An opportunity he was not expecting, Martinet agreed immediately, making the trip from Sausalito to Bad Animals Studio in Seattle to record for the game. Mostly unscripted, Martinet was given examples of what the teams in Japan were looking for by the producers, in addition to improvisation which lead to the creation of many of Mario's catchphrases. During the recording session, it was wondered what Mario would do when the player leaves him alone. In the end, Martinet came up with the idea that Mario would dream of pasta during his sleep.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} In the final game, Mario says "night nighty. Ahhh spaghetti, ahhh ravioli, ahhh mamma mia" when in his second sleeping position.

Following Super Mario 64, he would go on to additionally voice Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Metal Mario, Shadow Mario, Mini-Mario Toys, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi and Baby Wario in most games wherein these characters speak. He also voiced the enemies Wart, Mouser, Tryclyde, and Clawgrip in Super Mario Advance. His voice work appears in the English and Japanese language versions of the games. With his work as Mario in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Martinet for having performed the same character in one hundred different titles, the most of any video game voice actor.{{cite web | url = https://www.avclub.com/charles-martinet-now-holds-a-guinness-record-for-voicin-1831124428 | title = Charles Martinet now holds a Guinness record for voicing Super Mario 100 times | first = Sam | last = Barsanti | date = December 15, 2018 | access-date = December 17, 2018 | work = The A.V. Club | archive-date = December 16, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181216125556/https://news.avclub.com/charles-martinet-now-holds-a-guinness-record-for-voicin-1831124428 | url-status = live }}

In February 2021, Martinet said the possibility of reprising his role in the animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie would be a "marvelous thing" and that if he were asked to voice Mario he would "go in and play with great joy and happiness".{{Cite web |last=Doolan |first=Liam |date=February 13, 2021 |title=Charles Martinet Would Love To Voice Mario In Upcoming Illumination Movie |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/02/charles_martinet_would_love_to_voice_mario_in_upcoming_illumination_movie |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214044532/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/02/charles_martinet_would_love_to_voice_mario_in_upcoming_illumination_movie |archive-date=February 14, 2021 |access-date=February 14, 2021 |website=Nintendo Life}} Despite this, Chris Pratt was cast as Mario instead, and Martinet appeared briefly for cameo voices of Mario's father and a Brooklyn citizen named Giuseppe.

File:Charles Martinet 2014.jpg 2014]]

Martinet provided voiceover acting for the boxers and the announcer in the Super NES title Super Punch-Out!!. He voiced the character Vigoro in Sega's Dreamcast and GameCube role-playing video game, Skies of Arcadia. He did the voice of Homunculus in the Konami PlayStation 2, Xbox and Windows game Shadow of Destiny, and provided voices for Reader Rabbit and The ClueFinders games. In 2009, Martinet told That Gaming Site that he wanted to voice Link in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but Shigeru Miyamoto told him that Link would remain without a voice. However, Link's grunts have been voiced by various Japanese voice actors.{{cite news |last1=Worthington |first1=Thomas |title=An Interview with Charles Martinet |url=http://thatgamingsite.com/article/316/2/an-interview-with-charles-martinet/ |access-date=March 11, 2015 |work=That Gaming Site |date=November 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120012058/http://thatgamingsite.com/article/316/2/an-interview-with-charles-martinet/ |archive-date=November 20, 2009 |page=2}}

In addition to video game voiceovers, Martinet has worked as a voice actor in commercials, cartoons, and promotions. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) trade show in 2005, Martinet remotely interacted with players from New York in a playable demo of Animal Crossing: Wild World.{{cite news |last1=Theobald |first1=Phil |title=GameSpy: Animal Crossing DS |url=http://ds.gamespy.com/nintendo-ds/animal-crossing-ds/616540p1.html |access-date=March 11, 2015 |work=ds.gamespy.com |date=May 18, 2005 |archive-date=October 8, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008162945/http://ds.gamespy.com/nintendo-ds/animal-crossing-ds/616540p1.html |url-status=live }} Martinet did Mario's voice as the announcer for Pac-Man Vs. on the Nintendo GameCube.{{cite news |title=Pac-Man Vs. |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/11/13/pac-man-vs-2 |access-date=March 11, 2015 |work=IGN |date=November 13, 2003 |language=en |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801041916/http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/11/13/pac-man-vs-2 |url-status=live }}

Other than the Mario series, Martinet has also done work for the video game Cel Damage as the voice of Fowl Mouth, as well as the primary voice work in several educational game series such as LeapFrog.{{cite web |url=http://www.charlesmartinet.com/voiceover.html |title=Charles Martinet—Voice Over |website=www.charlesmartinet.com |access-date=September 14, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210070844/http://www.charlesmartinet.com/voiceover.html |archive-date=February 10, 2009}} He also voiced the dragon Paarthurnax in the 2011 video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Orvus in 2009's Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, and narrated the cutscenes and menus for the 2013 video game Runner2{{cite web |last=Roush |first=Mike |url=http://gaijingames.com/blog-post/what-flavor |title=What a Flavor! |work=Runner2 Blog |publisher=Gaijin Games |access-date=March 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122230643/http://gaijingames.com/blog-post/what-flavor |archive-date=January 22, 2013 }} and Runner3, appearing as a hidden playable character in the latter. Martinet also narrated for the 2020 Netflix docuseries High Score.{{cite news |last1=Friscia |first1=John |title=High Score Netflix documentary about games is narrated by Charles Martinet |url=https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/high-score-netflix-documentary-about-games-is-narrated-by-charles-martinet/ |access-date=August 11, 2020 |work=Nintendo Enthusiast |date=August 6, 2020 |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809095914/https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/high-score-netflix-documentary-about-games-is-narrated-by-charles-martinet/ |url-status=dead }} Martinet provided the voice of Magenta in the English dub of the 2022 anime film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.{{cite web|last=Mateo|first=Alex|title=Crunchyroll Reveals Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Film's Worldwide Screening Dates, English Dub Cast|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-06-14/crunchyroll-reveals-dragon-ball-super-super-hero-film-worldwide-screening-dates-english-dub-cast/.186652|website=Anime News Network|date=June 14, 2022|access-date=June 14, 2022|archive-date=June 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614143253/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-06-14/crunchyroll-reveals-dragon-ball-super-super-hero-film-worldwide-screening-dates-english-dub-cast/.186652|url-status=live}}

Martinet had stated in 2021 that he wanted to voice Mario for the rest of his life, and also said that he would ask Nintendo to find a successor in the case he would think that he won't be able to do it anymore.{{cite magazine|last=Gerblick|first=Jordan|title=Charles Martinet wants to voice Mario for the rest of his life|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/charles-martinet-wants-to-voice-mario-for-the-rest-of-his-life/|magazine=Games Radar|date=October 21, 2021|access-date=April 9, 2023|archive-date=April 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409201935/https://www.gamesradar.com/charles-martinet-wants-to-voice-mario-for-the-rest-of-his-life/|url-status=live}} On August 21, 2023, Nintendo of America announced on Twitter that Martinet would be retiring from providing voice acting for the Super Mario games but would continue to work with Nintendo as "Mario Ambassador".

{{Cite tweet |author=Nintendo of America |user=NintendoAmerica |number=1693624002982314108 |title=We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look. |access-date=August 21, 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Abbas |first=Hamzah |date=2023-08-21 |title=Mario: Voice of Nintendo game star Charles Martinet steps down after 27 years |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66574424 |access-date=2023-08-21 |archive-date=August 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821212240/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66574424 |url-status=live }} Kevin Afghani subsequently took over the role of Mario and Luigi starting with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, as well as Wario beginning with WarioWare: Move It!{{Cite web|title=Mario's New Voice Actor Announced by Nintendo After Charles Martinet's Departure|url=https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/mario-new-voice-actor-nintendo-kevin-afghani-1235755568/|website=Variety|first=Ethan|last=Shanfeld|date=October 13, 2023|access-date=October 13, 2023|archive-date=October 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018225905/https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/mario-new-voice-actor-nintendo-kevin-afghani-1235755568/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=McWhertor |first=Michael |date=2023-11-03 |title=The new voice of Mario is also the new voice of Wario |url=https://www.polygon.com/23945633/nitnendo-wario-voice-actor-charles-martinet-kevin-afghani |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=Polygon |language=en-US |archive-date=November 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106180332/https://www.polygon.com/23945633/nitnendo-wario-voice-actor-charles-martinet-kevin-afghani |url-status=live }} and Waluigi beginning with Super Mario Party Jamboree.{{cite tweet |url=https://twitter.com/KevinAfghani/status/1847099431646384229 |title=On a side note: I am Waluigi in this game! It was probably the most fun I have ever had in the booth.|user=KevinAfghani|date=October 17, 2024|number=1847099431646384229|access-date=October 17, 2024}}

As the former voice of Mario, Martinet has become a well-known personality and has made public appearances at several video game related events where he meets fans for chat, photographs, and autographs. He has made regular appearances at game events such as Electronic Entertainment Expo, Gamescom, and the Eurogamer Expo, and at launch events of games like Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel.{{cite web |last=Purchese |first=Robert |date=June 3, 2010 |title=Martinet to appear at SMG2 launch event |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/smg2-london-launch-boasts-martinet |website=Eurogamer |access-date=March 11, 2015 |archive-date=May 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507041119/https://www.eurogamer.net/smg2-london-launch-boasts-martinet |url-status=live }}

In 2013, Martinet was evicted from his home in Sausalito, California following a legal dispute with the family of the recently deceased landlord. Dissatisfied with other homes in his price range, Martinet remained homeless for the next five years, focusing his time on game events.{{cite web |title=Charles Martinet panel GalaxyCon 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx7CPPQwWZI&t=607s |website=YouTube | date=December 3, 2022 |language=en}}{{cbignore}}

Martinet, having spent a large portion of his youth in Europe, speaks fluent French and Spanish, as well as some Italian. He resides in the Netherlands with his partner.

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{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• {{Official website|1=http://www.charlesmartinet.com/ |2=CharlesMartinet.com}}
• {{IMDb name|0553409}}
• [http://www.goninpodcast.com/mario.mp3 Short clip of Martinet's Mario voice acting]
• [http://sceneworld.org/blog/2015/03/08/podcast-episode-6-charles-martinet-the-voice-of-super-mario-and-luigi/ Podcast Interview for Scene World Magazine]

{{Mario series}}

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Category:1955 births

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American male actors

Category:American expatriates in France

Category:American expatriates in the Netherlands

Category:American expatriates in Spain

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:American male video game actors

Category:American male voice actors

Category:American people of French descent

Category:California Democrats

Category:Living people

Category:Nintendo people

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni