Martinet has been the voice the cheerful Italian plumber since the release of Super Mario 64 in 1996, the company said. He has also voiced Luigi, Mario’s brother and sidekick, and Wario, Mario’s archrival.
Super Mario 64 moved the series into three dimensions and brought much of the video game industry with it. In the game, released on the Nintendo 64, players see Mario from behind as he runs ahead. The game has attained something close to cult status since, and Martinet would go on to lend his voice to dozens more games.
A new game, “Super Mario Bros. Wonder,” is set to come out in October, in which Martinet does not appear to have a role, according to his IMDB profile, where he is not listed as the character’s voice.
Martinet did not voice Mario in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” released this year, ceding the role to Chris Pratt, but he did have a small role in the film as the voice of Mario and Luigi’s father.
The New York Times review of the movie mentioned that Pratt — “who doesn’t sound like the Mario of the games” — invoked Martinet’s catchphrases, including “it’s a-me” and “let’s a-go.”
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