REDMOND, Washington — The In video games released by Nintendo since the 1990s, Charles Martinet has provided the character of Mario with his distinctive voice.
Martinet will now serve as the "Mario Ambassador," as confirmed by Nintendo of America on Monday.
In this capacity, he will tour the world to promote everyone's favorite plumber, Mario, while also signing autographs and playing voice roles for various Nintendo characters.
In a statement, Nintendo said, "It's been a privilege working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years, and we want to thank him and celebrate him.
In addition to providing the original voice for Mario, he has also provided the voices for the video game characters Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi.
In the most current film, he did not provide the voice of Mario, but he did have a cameo appearance as Mario's father.
According to a gaming blog called The Game Crater, Martinet responded to a query posed by a fan at a question and answer session held at a Canadian gaming and comics expo two years ago by saying, "I want to voice Mario till I drop dead.
Nevertheless, he continued, "if someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will encourage Nintendo to look into finding someone else to do it.