Charles Martinet shares what it means to be a Mario ambassador

Charles Martinet has explained the meaning behind his new role as Mario ambassador after stepping down from voicing the iconic character last month. 

Speaking in a special message from Nintendo today, Martinet finally offered an explanation for his new role as Mario ambassador following the announcement of his departure as the voice of Mario.

“Today is a very big day for Nintendo, the Mushroom Kingdom and for me,” Martinet said. “You may know me from voicing characters from Nintendo’s games like Super Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, and today I’m happy to share with all of you that I’m stepping into a brand new role as the Mario Ambassador.”

The voice actor went on to explain that his new role will find him travelling all over the world and “sharing the joy of the Mario family, and being able to continue meeting with all of you wonderful fans, who I cherish absolutely the most”.

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto also made an appearance in the video to reminisce on his working relationship with Martinet over the years, revealing that the voice actor would call him “Papa” whenever they met. 

“You have travelled the world visiting events, joyfully performing the voice of Mario for fans, and putting smiles on people’s faces,” Miyamoto said.

It’s unclear at this time who will be replacing Martinet as the voice actor for Mario, but Miyamoto said that starting with the release of Super Mario Bros Wonder in October, “the voices of some Mario characters have become new, so please check them out”.

Martinet began working for Nintendo in 1991 and made his first video game appearance as Mario in the CD-ROM version of Mario Teaches Typing in 1994. The voice actor has went on to become a household name, playing various other characters such as Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi.

For more, check out our top picks for the best Nintendo Switch games, which includes this year’s Tears of the Kingdom, as well as all the upcoming Switch games of 2023 and beyond.