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Charles Martinet reveals a secret about the voice he used for Mario’s dad in the Super Mario Bros. movie

There’s an interesting story reason behind the voice Charles Martinet used to play Super Mario’s father

News by Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Contributing writer

Published on Fri Dec 20 2024

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Nintendo's long-time Mario voice actor reveals the secret behind voicing Mario's Dad in the movie (and how it goes back to his original audition decades ago)

When Charles Martinet began voicing Super Mario in 1991, there was a particular voice he wanted to avoid. In 2023, Martinet finally used that voice for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, bringing things full circle.

Martinet voiced the beloved Italian plumber from 1991-2023 in a variety of video games, commercials, and other promotional events for Nintendo. When it came time to bring Mario to the big screen, Universal Pictures opted to recast the role with Chris Pratt. However, no Super Mario Bros. film would be complete without Martinet’s involvement. The voice actor played two roles in the film. The first role, Giuseppe, used his traditional Mario voice. The other role, Mario’s father, used a voice that Martinet had avoided for decades.

Speaking to a crowd at Fan Expo Canada, Martinet spoke about finding the voice for Papa Mario. “What I chose to do as Mario’s dad, was the voice I intentionally chose not to do as Mario 32 years before. ‘[Tough guy Italian accent] Hey, what are you talking about? You don’t know what you’re doing! Get out of here.’ I knew I would be doing it around children, and I didn’t want the voice, if I’m directly talking to children, to have a negative effect.”

However, Martinet thought it would be poetic to use it for Papa Mario. In doing so, he tied it in with Mario’s arc of fearing he would become his father. “It seemed like the perfect thing. You become the person your dad isn’t necessarily, although at the same time, you do. The choice I wanted to make was that. What Mario could have been, if I had made that choice. But it wouldn’t have been the same as the choice I made.”

“It was great fun. The director was terrific. The script writers were great,” Martinet continued.

The untitled Super Mario Bros. sequel is currently slated to be released on April 3, 2026.

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Joshua Lapin-Bertone: Joshua is a pop culture writer specializing in comic book media. His work has appeared on the official DC Comics website, the DC Universe subscription service, HBO Max promotional videos, the Batman Universe fansite, and more. In between traveling around the country to cover various comic conventions, Joshua resides in Florida where he binges superhero television and reads obscure comics from yesteryear.