Charles Martinet is the famous voice actor behind Nintendo’s beloved character Mario. For more than twenty-six years, he has brought Mario, Luigi, and even Donkey Kong to life with his unique voice acting skills. Before this, Martinet worked in theater, corporate videos, and television. His career as Mario began unexpectedly when he crashed an audition in the early 1990s. The casting directors asked him to invent the voice of an Italian plumber from Brooklyn. Without any experience in video games, he improvised a cheerful and playful character, talking about pizza, spaghetti, and sausages. His creativity impressed the producers, and they immediately decided that he was the perfect Mario.
Mario was first created in 1981 in the game Donkey Kong, but Martinet became his official voice almost a decade later. Since then, he has voiced Mario in countless games, adding joy and energy to the character. Martinet says that the role brings out the best in him, and he enjoys meeting fans who often tell him, “You are the voice of my childhood.” These encounters show him how Mario has connected families across generations, with parents and children playing together.
For Martinet, the message of Mario is simple: fun, positivity, and connection. After decades of success, he still loves being the voice of Mario and Luigi, because it allows him to share happiness and memories with millions of people worldwide.
Vocabulaire :
• audition (noun): a short performance to test actors for a role.
• plumber (noun): a person who fixes water pipes.
• improvise (verb): to create something without preparation.
• voice actor (noun): an actor who provides voices for characters.
• character (noun): a person or figure in a story, play, or game.
• corporate (adjective): related to large companies or business.
• refined (verb/adjective): improved or developed over time.
• mantra (noun): a personal motto or guiding belief.
• fantastic (adjective): extremely good or impressive.
• generation (noun): people of about the same age in a family or society.