Many consider Nintendo's Mario to be one of the most iconic characters in video gaming history. He has been the face of video games for the past 35 years, with many games to his name. This includes mainline entry Super Mario platformers, kart-racers, board games, and turn-based RPG spin-offs. One of the most recognizable things about the character is his cheery, happy-go-lucky voice, provided by Charles Martinet, who has voiced him for the last 30 years. While Chris Pratt might have been cast as the voice of Mario in the upcoming animated film by Illumination, many fans still consider Charles Martinet to be the only right choice for the Mushroom Kingdom's plumber.
While Charles Martinet wasn't casted in the movie as Mario, to the ire of some fans, he'll still be making some cameo appearances in the movie. He has voiced Mario since 1996, with his first video game role being Super Mario 64, and has continued to do so for every major release and spin-off afterwards. However, some fans do wonder if he'll be the voice of the icon forever, which Martinet hopes to do as long as he can.
In a recent Q&A session with fans at FAN EXPO Canada: Limited Edition, Martinet spoke about his experiences in how he auditioned to be the voice of Mario, as well as how the character got his iconic voice. One thing that did stick out, however, was that ever since he got the role, he wanted to continue playing him for as long as he could. Martinet even retorted to one fan asking how long he'd be able to continue voicing Mario with the statement "I want to voice Mario until I drop dead."
While this might be a sigh of relief to fans, Martinet did address the possibility that he wouldn't be able to continue voicing the icon in the future. "If someday I think I am no longer capable of doing it, I will tell Nintendo to look into finding someone else," he said. In regards to a successor, he said that he'd be touched that someone would want to fill his shoes, but doesn't think he'll be done as the voice of Mario just yet, thanks to the millions of audio files available and frequent recording sessions.
The rest of the Q&A had fans asking about Martinet's experience and his favorite parts of the Mario franchise. Some enlightening answers were given, such as his favorite game being Super Mario Sunshine, due to its happy nature and message of cleaning up the island. He also wants Waluigi to get his own game, since he'd love to voice him more often.
Source: The Game Crater