With the exception of already established actors, very few video game voice actors have become as notable as Charles Martinet. Even though he is usually only heard one voice clip at a time, Martinet’s biggest role as the Super Mario series’ eponymous protagonist, was enough of a big deal to put the man’s name in the spotlight. After all, Mario is the mascot of the world’s most famous gaming company, an icon of the medium itself, and was at one point more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse. By the time the Nintendo 64 was released, Martinet’s status as Mario’s voice actor was set in stone, and the plumber has been associated with the high pitched, faux Italian voice Martinet has provided ever since.
That being said, while Mario is without a doubt Martinet’s most famous role, Martinet has never typecast or pigeonholed into solely performing mascot roles. Indeed, he has a few other famous roles that are not only occasionally unrelated to Mario, but completely differ from the rather one-note, happy go lucky role people know him for. Indeed, these roles are sometimes part of works belonging to different genres and different aesthetics from Mario’s famously cartoony and colorful visuals.
Other Mario Characters
While he is best known for voicing Mario himself, Martinet also lends his voice to other major characters in the Super Mario universe. Most of these characters are related to Mario in some way. In addition to the red-capped plumber, Martinet also voices Luigi, Mario’s younger twin brother, Wario, Mario’s rival, and Waluigi, Luigi’s rival. All three of the aforementioned characters have voices, accents, and mannerisms as distinct as Mario’s, and are just as quotable as him.
Despite being the least important character of the four and being the most recently introduced, Waluigi is the only one to have always been voiced by Martinet. Luigi and Wario, just like Mario, went through an experimental phase with their voices, especially with Wario due to his German-sounding voice in the early Mario Party games rather than the recognizable Italian accent he now has. In addition to these main characters, Martinet also voices Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, as well as Toadsworth, the brown-spotted elderly Toad that first appeared in Super Mario Sunshine.
A Sega Antagonist
Despite Nintendo’s legendary rivalry with Sega in the 90s, and this game’s predecessor being a game made for the Dreamcast, Martinet lent his voice for Jet Set Radio Future. He voiced Gouji Rokkaku, head of the group named after himself. The complete opposite of Mario in many ways, Gouji is a corrupt CEO with a fascination for the concept of beauty. He is also the main antagonist of the Jet Set Radio series overall.
Minor Role in a Sony Platformer
With its PlayStation family of consoles still going strong to this day, Sony usurped Sega’s title of Nintendo’s main rival in the late 90s and definitely became one of gaming’s biggest companies as of the early 2000s. Cartoony platformers such as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper came and went, but Ratchet and Clank stood the test of time as one of the few Sony franchises to be pumping out new installments to this day.
In A Crack in Time, Martinet voices Orvus, a supporting character integral to the game’s plot. A member of the Zoni race of aliens, Orvus is not only the creator of the Great Clock that the game focuses on, but is Clank’s father, meaning that Martinet voices a character integral to the entirety of the series’ events. The fact that Martinet voices a character who, despite having a minor presence in the series, is arguably responsible for events in the entire series, is fitting considering how important his own biggest role is.
A Realistic Dragon
In an even bigger diversion from what he usually does, Martinet participated in a more traditional take on fantasy stories. In Skyrim, he voices Paarthurnax, a dragon that turned against his former master and aids the Dovahkiin. While off-putting at first glance, Martinet’s role in this game makes sense. Super Mario has a colorful and cartoonish take on fantasy settings, and Bowser had draconic traits such as the ability to breathe fire. Additionally, Bowser is known for his antagonistic role. Having Martinet voice a dragon that has committed evil deeds in the past is nothing short of poetic.
Despite being known for uttering one basic phrase at a time, Martinet has an impressive portfolio of voice work that shows his versatility. The man might have admitted to thinking and dreaming in Mario’s voice, but his range has proven impressive enough that directors will not typecast him despite his contribution to the characterization of the world’s most famous video game character.