History Creator / CharlesMartinet

* MotorMouth: In real life, Charles Martinet speaks very fast and comes across as just as energetic as the characters he voices.
* NiceGuy: On top of voicing [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosMarioBrothers two of the nicest guys]] in video game history, Martinet himself is known for being incredibly amiable with fans during conventions.

* CreatorsFavoriteEpisode: ** In [[https://www.gamesradar.com/legendary-mario-voice-actor-charles-martinet-on-his-favorite-characters-and-why-he-now-dreams-in-2d/ a 2022 interview]], Martinet listed off four ''Mario'' games as his favorites in rapid succession: ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey''. Outside the main entries, he also adores the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series.

* NiceGuy: On top of voicing [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosTheMarioBrothers two of the nicest guys]] in video game history, Martinet himself is known for being incredibly amiable with fans during conventions.

Coming from a French-American background, Charles Martinet is fluent in English, French and Spanish and also performed voice acting in German, Catalan and Italian.

His distinct and iconic ChildLikeVoice for Mario is in stark contrast with the performance of previous voice actor Wrestling/CaptainLouAlbano in the [[WesternAnimation/TheheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow cartoon series]]. Martinet claims he never heard of Mario prior to auditioning for the role and thus, went with his own interpretation of what a kid-friendly stereotypical italian plumber should be, allowing him to stand out among the sea of Captain Lou's imitators.

Charles Andre Martinet (born September 17, 1955) is an American actor born in San Jose, California.

He is best known as the voices of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series, starting with the CD-ROM release of ''VideoGame/MarioTeachesTyping'' in 1994. Martinet is from a Franco-American background, and is fluent in Spanish and French but, ironically, not so fluent in Italian.[[note]]Though he did voice act for ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' Italian as well as German dub.[[/note]]

* AchievementsInIgnorance: This played a huge part in getting him the role of Mario. Martinet had never actually heard of the ''Mario'' series or of Nintendo when he was first told about the audition for the role in 1990 and consequently didn't know what people's expectations for the Mario character were. Because of this, he was unfamiliar with the precedent that Wrestling/CaptainLouAlbano set with his portrayal of Mario in ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'', and went for a high-pitched Italian voice that allowed him to stand out from the large swath of Captain Lou imitators[[note]]he did initially consider a gruff Brooklynite voice, but quickly abandoned it in favor of something that'd more readily appeal towards younger audiences[[/note]]. His MotorMouth and improv skills also played a role, as Nintendo was seeking an actor who could play Mario via mocap at conventions for potentially hours at a time without sounding tired or bored of the role. Martinet's tape was the only one sent to Nintendo, and they accepted it almost immediately.

* GentleGiant: In terms of height, Charles is very tall, at 6'3'', and he's loved not just because of the characters he voiced for so long, but also for being a likable and sensitive man.

** [[TheHero Mario]], [[TheLancer Luigi]], [[EvilCounterpart Wario, Waluigi]], and [[SpinoffBabies their baby counterparts]] from 1990 to 2023 (as well as Franchise/DonkeyKong in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcdkFsVFzMI this Real Time animation from VSDA Expo '94]] and both Bowser and the Boos in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'') and the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series.

* ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest IV: Open Season'' - Male Prostitute

On August 21, 2023, Nintendo announced that Martinet will be [[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1693624002982314108 retiring from the role as Mario's full-time voice actor]]. He isn't done with the franchise for good, however, as he has moved into the role of a ''Mario'' brand ambassador for Nintendo.

On August 21, 2023, Nintendo announced that Martinet will be [[https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1693624002982314108 retiring from the role as Mario's full-time voice actor]]; he had previously made public comments suggesting that his age was making it increasingly difficult to keep up the voice. He isn't done with the franchise for good, however, as he has moved into the role of a ''Mario'' brand ambassador for Nintendo.

** [[Pinball/SuperMarioBros Super Mario Bros Pinball]] was the very first game featuring his Mario's voice. However, Gottlieb took his voice using the clips from trade shows without paying him for the game or giving him any credit. He isn't too thrilled talking about it.

He is best known as the voices of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series, starting with ''VideoGame/MariosGameGallery'' in 1995. Martinet is from a Franco-American background, and is fluent in Spanish and French but, ironically, not so fluent in Italian.[[note]]Though he did voice act for ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' Italian as well as German dub.[[/note]]

* FakeNationality: He is so well-known for voicing Mario the Italian plumber that many people believe Charles Martinet to actually be an Italian-American. In reality, he is of French descent.

* StarMakingRole: Charles had acting experience prior to his role as the voice actor of Mario; however, it wasn't until after his stint as Nintendo's famous mascot for ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' that his name ''really'' took off. While other Nintendo characters had their voice actors [[TheOtherDarrin changed]] every so often, Charles is the only one who has been in the same role for more than two decades. In this time, Martinet has voiced Mario in ''over 100 games'', more than any other voice actor in a single role according to ''Literature/GuinnessWorldRecords'', reaching this record by the time he voiced him in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. By the time he retired from voicing the characters, he had been playing Mario and Luigi for '''31 years''' (1992 - 2023).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Martinet's first plan for his rendition of Mario was to provide a gruff Brooklynite voice in the vein of Walker Boone's portrayal of the character in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'' and ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld1991''. However, he very quickly shifted to the now-iconic high-pitched Italian voice upon realizing that it would be more appealing to the young children that comprised the majority of the ''Mario'' series's audience. This choice ended up being what got Martinet the role; he was the only person who ''didn't'' try to imitate Wrestling/CaptainLouAlbano's portrayal from ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow''