There's no doubt that legendary Mario voice actor Charles Martinet helped Nintendo's red-hatted plumber become as iconic and beloved as he is today, but in his original audition, he "didn't know anything about video games," so he opted for a slightly unconventional approach and "made things up about food," instead.
Speaking to GAMINGbible in a new interview, Martinet says that he "started off crashing an audition where I had never heard of the character or even Nintendo." He explains, "I was simply told to start talking, and when you run out of things to say, that's your audition." No pressure, then.
Although he "didn't know" whether the audition's audience "would have children in it," Martinet "didn't want to do an Italian plumber sounding gruff, mean, and nasty or scary," as he adds: "I have a principle of comedy of always being kind."
That led to the "much more silly and fun" version of Mario's voice that more accurately matches the one we know and love. "I didn't know anything about video games, so I just made things up about food and started talking," Martinet admits. And hey, it clearly worked.
If you're curious exactly how that went down, the story matches up with the actor's previous recollection of the audition in an interview with Retro Gamer, where he revealed that he opened with, "'Hello, I'm-a-Mario, let's make a pizza pie together. You get some sausage, I will get some spaghetti. And then I chase you with the pizza, and if I catch you with the pizza, you gotta eat de pizza.'" After that, he continued talking about lasagna and "every pasta I have ever heard of," before eventually "making pasta up" until he was eventually told to "stop talking" because there was no videotape left. He obviously made quite an impression.
Back to the latest interview, Martinet notes that after he secured the role, he "began to do more things with Mario, and I cemented the idea that he's going to be optimistic, loving, respectful, and comedic. Mario has a positive impact on children, and I think that's the essence of his character."
While Martinet has now retired from being the voice of Mario, with Kevin Afghani having taken over in the games since Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the veteran actor says that "being able to bring that joy into children's and adults' lives has been a tremendous honor."
