Early this morning, Nintendo announced on social media that veteran Mario voice actor Charles Martinet is moving from his role as the jovial plumber, though will continue to work for the Japanese gaming company in a new capacity.
“Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64. Charles is now moving into the brand-new role of Mario Ambassador. With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!
It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him. Please keep an eye out for a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles himself, which we will post at a future date.”
Martinet replied to the Nintendo tweet, “My new adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!”
Martinet has portrayed the red-hatted plumber in numerous games across multiple platforms since first being hired by Nintendo in 1991. When Super Mario 64 (pictured at top) launched in 1996, fans fell in love with the light-hearted banter Martinet provided as Mario bounced over obstacles or when taking a break if the controller was left untouched.
Not only has Martinet played the popular plumber, but Mario’s in-game brother Luigi, their nemeses Wario and Waluigi. Of course, he also had work outside of Nintendo, including an appearance as Admiral Vigoro in the Sega Dreamcast title Skies of Arcadia.
While we’re not sure what the responsibilities of a Mario Ambassador entails, it was likely created with Martinet in mind which will ensure his embodiment as Mario continues to delight gamers around the world for years to come.
A video starring both Martinet and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is expected in the near future.
Source: Twitter
© Nintendo
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