With the news that legendary voice actor and all-round gaming hero Charles Martinet is stepping back from playing Mario in the Nintendo games, the internet has been rife with speculation about who will take up the mantle. Martinet will certainly be a hard act to follow — having voiced the character (and Luigi, as well as a number of other favorites) for over three decades and through a massive growth in the popularity and quality of video games — but lovers of the franchise shouldn’t be too worried: plenty of other actors have played the part, and we have no doubt that whoever Nintendo hires will keep the magic alive.
While Martinet voiced Mario throughout most of the game’s history, when the character has been portrayed in other media he’s usually not been involved. Famously, Chris Pratt supplied the voice for last year’s animated film about the plumber, but the Guardians of the Galaxy star isn’t the only person not named Martinet to have become the moustachioed Italian. Here’s a roundup of everyone who’s ever voiced (and in some cases, portrayed) Mario throughout the years.
Charles Martinet
The original Mario — and considered by many to be the best — Charles Martinet has voiced every Mario game since 1992, but as his story shows, that long, storied career might have taken a different turn. Martinet only heard about the voice audition the day that it was taking place, and when he turned up producers were allegedly already packing away. However, he convinced them to let him read, and the rest is history.
His first few appearances as the plumber came in trade shows, where fans of the character (who first appeared in 1982’s Donkey Kong) would be able to “talk” to the plumber. Martinet would be hidden but still able to see and hear the fans in front of the screen that depicted Mario, and an early form of motion capture technology allowed the on-screen character’s mouth to move in time with what Martinet was saying. He also voiced the character in a pinball arcade machine game based on the plumber.
His first foray into voicing Mario in a video game came in the 1994 educational game Mario Teaches Typing, but he really gained acclaim for the 1996 classic Super Mario 64. From then onward it was hit after hit for Martinet and the Italian, who soon became just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse and other iconic animated characters.
While he mostly voiced the game version of the character, Martinet also played Mario in an advertising campaign for the milk industry. Numerous other pop culture figures were involved too, so it wasn’t all on the Nintendo creation. With that all said, you’re most likely to hear him in any game that involves Mario, whether it’s Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, or even just a game where the plumber turns up for a brief cameo. Martinet has also lent his voice to some other iconic games, like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and even had a cameo in the recent Mario film.
Peter Cullen
There are few names in the voice acting game as big and respected as Martinet, but Peter Cullen is definitely one of them. The legendary actor is most famous for voicing Optimus Prime in various Transformers media, but was also the voice of Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh, did vocals for Gremlins, and was even the noise of the titular monster in Predator. In terms of Mario, Cullen voiced the plumber on the short-lived PBS show Saturday Supercade in 1983, where the Italian had a series of adventures chasing Donkey Kong after the ape had escaped from captivity.
Bob Hoskins
Another on-screen icon, Brit Bob Hoskins won multiple awards, and was even nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the 1996 film Mona Lisa, although, he was probably best known for two roles in more family-oriented films: Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Smee in the Robin Williams vehicle Hook. When he died almost a decade ago, numerous notable Brits paid their respects, showcasing just how respected he was in his field. With that said, when they were praising his powerhouse performances those famous faces probably weren’t thinking about Hoskin’s turn as Mario in the 1993 Super Mario Bros. film, in which Mario and Luigi head to a parallel universe ruled by evil President Koopa (Dennis Hopper) to save Peach (Samantha Mathis). The film was noted for its incredible special effects (for the time, anyway), but the plot was lacking and the script couldn’t be saved by its stellar cast.
Lou Albano
Not everybody who’s taken on the role of Mario has been an Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe winning actor. Former wrestler Lou Albano (stage name: Captain Lou) was a showman of the highest order, and captivated audiences throughout his time on WWF (now WWE). The Italian-American star was famously known on the circuit for his crucial role in the explosion in the popularity of wrestling in the ’80s, but those who weren’t fans of the faked sport might also remember him in that decade for different reasons: his time as Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The series only lasted for three months and was a combination of live-action and animation, with Albano playing Mario and voicing him for the cartoon segments. Each episode saw Albano take part in a different adventure, each of which was inspired by a combination of real historical events and levels in the Mario games.
Chris Pratt
Guardians of the Galaxy and Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt was already a household name when he took on the voice role of Mario in last year’s Super Mario Bros. There was a fair amount of dismay when longtime fans of the Nintendo franchise found out Pratt would be (metaphorically) donning the famous red hat, but the actor definitely had the cultural cache to make the film appeal to an even wider audience than it already would have. In the movie, we see the supposed origin story of Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day), two regular plumbers who are sucked into an alternate reality in which they have to battle Bowser and other villains. The film isn’t the best thing Pratt has been in, but it’s not as bad as many folks angry at him being cast in the role made it out to be.
Walker Boone
Journeyman actor Walker Boone is probably most famous for his short-lived stint as Mario in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, two animated series that aired for a collective 38 episodes in the early ’90s. The two shows followed similar formats: Mario and his friends would take on an adventure in Mushrom World, usually to do with stopping Koopa from attacking them. While this was probably Boone’s biggest role, he was also known for a guest appearance as Commander Leland T. Lynch in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Seth Green
A bit of a left-field entry, but technically funnyman Seth Green (Austin Powers, Family Guy) has voiced Mario in the animated series Robot Chicken. The Adult Swim show is famous for parodying a number of pop culture touchstones, and Nintendo’s favorite plumber has been involved many times. Throughout his time as kind-of Mario, Green has seen the character dropped into the GTA universe and have a menage-a-trois with Peach and Waluigi. Yes, it’s a wild show, and yes, we doubt Nintendo likes it, but it still counts as a Mario performance.
Tōru Furuya
Because of his global popularity, the vast majority of Mario content has been made in the English language sphere, or at the very least dubbed over in English. One exception is the 1986 animated Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach!, in which the famous Italian was voiced by Tōru Furuya. Furuya also played the character in a number of other productions, some of which were translated. Avid anime fans may recognize his voice from Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon.
Harris Shore
Potentially the first person to play Mario, Shore was another live-action version of the plumber, taking on the character in commercials for the games Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. in 1982.
Larry Moran
Moran is a bit of a cereal king, having done voiceovers for a number of famous breakfast food brands. He played Mario in a commercial for Donkey Kong cereal in the eighties (we can’t imagine why that product didn’t take off…).
Pat McBride
Donkey Kong Goes Home was a novelty record that was released in 1982, and the producer – Pat McBride says that he voiced Mario. However, according to the credits, the voice was provided by Leon Reeder. For now, we’ll give McBride the credit.
Other Marios
- John Lenahan: TV magician Lenahan played Mario in a gameshow called The Super Mario Challenge, which aired on The Children’s Channel in 1991.
- Ronald B. Ruben: In some versions of Mario Teaches Typing, the titular character was voiced by Ruben instead of Martinet.
- Marc Graue: Graue voiced the character in a puzzle-based video game.
- Nicholas Glaeser: Mario is Missing! was a CD-game about the character, in which Glaeser voiced him.
