Mario Actor Charles Martinet Wants to Voice the Character "Until I Drop Dead"

When it comes to the voice of Super Mario, there simply isn't another actor as well-recognized as Charles Martinet. Other actors have portrayed the character in animation and film, but Martinet has been the exclusive voice of the character in gaming, dating back to the early '90s. If Martinet gets his way, he'll continue to do so for the foreseeable future. During an appearance at Fan Expo Canada, Martinet participated in a fan Q&A, where he was asked about his plans for Mario, and how long he plans to continue working with Nintendo.

"I want to voice Mario until I drop dead. If someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will tell Nintendo to look into finding someone else."

Martinet's next take on the character will be heard later this week when Mario Party Superstars releases on Nintendo Switch. In addition to Mario, Martinet voices a number of other Nintendo characters, including Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi. During the Fan Expo Q&A, Martinet also claimed he'd like to voice Waluigi more, stating that "I think he should get his own game where you have to cheat to win." Hopefully, Martinet will get to see that wish come to fruition, one day!

Given Martinet's long-time association with Mario, many fans were shocked last month when Nintendo announced that he would not be voicing Mario in Illumination's upcoming animated movie. The character is being voiced by Chris Pratt in the film, while Martinet will still appear in some form. This has led to some debate from fans about whether Martinet should have been offered the full role. While Martinet has been voicing Mario for nearly 30 years, the character traditionally speaks in small phrases in the games, as opposed to full sentences. That will not be the case in the movie, which might be part of the reason Nintendo and Illumination opted to go in a different direction.

Are you a fan of Charles Martinet's voice as Mario? Are you happy he plans to stay in the role? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: The Game Crater]