Mario's Iconic Voice Actor Isn't Allowed To Do Voices of Nintendo Characters
According to Ricky Berwick, Mario Ambassador Charles Martinet is not allowed to perform Mario's voice on camera.
Yuri Lowenthal, Roger Clark, Steven Ogg, Tom McKay, Wes Johnson, Carolina Ravassa, Tracy Wiles – it's well-known that many voice actors, whether from video games or other media, can be hired for a small fee on sites like Cameo to perform the voices of fan-favorite characters, providing you with a personalized birthday greeting from Sheogorath, putting some money in the actor's pocket, and giving the original IP some extra recognition – a win for everyone!
Apparently, though, not every game studio is on board with the practice, with a recent report highlighting that Nintendo has seemingly prohibited Charles Martinet – the former voice of Mario, Luigi, and many other characters – from performing any of those voices on camera, despite him still being an official Mario Ambassador.
The information comes from none other than Ricky Berwick, a renowned comedian and content creator, who had the chance to spend some time with Martinet during the Phoenix Fan Fusion convention, held last weekend.
According to Berwick, the voice actor wasn't allowed to do the voice of Mario or any of his iconic characters on camera, saying he could only perform them when the cameras were off. This suggests that, despite portraying Mario for over 30 years, Martinet wasn't given any leniency by Nintendo and is contractually forbidden from doing the voices – despite it being a common practice, as mentioned earlier – once again highlighting the bizarre lengths Nintendo will go to protect its copyrighted material.
Compounding the account is a 2024 report from The Gamer, which spotlighted that The Legend of Zelda's voice actors are also prohibited by "very strict NDAs" from saying custom lines in character, at least as long as there's any chance the performance could be recorded.
Additionally, the comedian mentioned that when Martinet stepped away from the role of Mario in 2023, it wasn't a decision he made willingly, opening up an entirely new can of worms and raising questions about why Nintendo would push him out of the role. That said, take this information with a grain of salt, for until Charles himself voices the reason out loud, any explanation for his retirement – or "retirement" – is pure speculation and shouldn't be treated as fact.
And what's your take on Nintendo copyrighting Martinet's Mario voice? Was the actor's retirement actually forced? Share your thoughts down in the comments below!
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