Charles Martinet retires as the voice of Super Mario

Nintendo stated today that Charles Martinet, the original and longstanding voice actor of Mario in the Super Mario video game series, is leaving the position he has held since the 1990s. After Charles Martinet retires, he will continue to be associated with the role as what the video game industry refers to as a “Mario Ambassador.”

“Charles Martinet has been the original voice of Mario in Nintendo games for a long time, as far back as Super Mario 64,” Nintendo of America said via X, formerly known as Twitter, today. “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.”

Charles Martinet shared the tweet by Nintendo of America along with his own message: “My new adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!!”

Early in the 1990s, he began lending his voice to trade shows, and in 1994’s Mario Teaches Typing, he made his video game debut as the title character. Two years later, in Super Mario 64, Martinet brought the voice of Mario in one of the greatest video games of all time.

Thank you very much, Charles Martinet!!!

[Sources]: @NintendoAmerica (Twitter): We have a message for fans of the Mushroom Kingdom. Please take a look – [Archive] – [Screenshot]. @CharlesMartinet (Twitter): My new Adventure begins! You are all Numba One in my heart! #woohoo !!!!!!! – [Archive] – [Screenshot].