Manny King John
Mario Bros.® Mario, (Super Mario) is one of the most recognisable characters in video game history and the Super Mario Bros. series features in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful gaming franchise of all time.
Mario became the star in the original Super Mario Bros. game in 1985. Since then, he has gone onto feature in countless video games over the years, receiving huge acclaim across every Nintendo home console and hand held system. The Super Mario Bros. series of platform games alone has sold more than 310 million copies worldwide making Mario one of the most iconic entertainment characters in the world.
Super Mario Maker
Bringing some of the game’s most iconic elements together for the first time and in celebration of the last 30 years, the 11th September, 2015 sees the release of Nintendo’s next instalment in the series, Super Mario Maker. The concept of the game is unique, allowing players to use their imaginations to create their own levels in the style of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros. U. Combined with plenty of levels ready to play, this essentially creates a limitless number of courses that can be played, shared and downloaded.
The Voice Behind the Character
In addition to Mario’s iconic appearance, his voice and well known catchphrases such as “Mama Mia!” and “Here we go!” have cemented the series in the minds of a generation. These catchphrases are the work of voice artist Charles Martinet (who also voiced Luigi, Wario, Donkey Kong and Toadsworth throughout the Mario series). Martinet attended the University of Berkley, originally planning to study law, but eventually made it to the UK to study at Drama Studio London where he discovered his talent for accents and dialects.
Charles’ defining role came after he made the last minute decision to audition for the voice for a new video game character – Mario. Charles improvised the character, opening with the line “hello, it’s me, Mario…let’s make a pizza pie together” and adopting an energetic and friendly voice that he believed would appeal to adults and children alike. Charles went on to voice a number of different characters in over 100 Nintendo software titles, his most recent role being to add his spectacular flair and charm to Super Mario Maker.
