Charles Martinet, né le 17 septembre 1955 à San José, est un acteur américain spécialisé dans le doublage, célèbre pour être la voix de Mario, mascotte de la firme de jeu vidéo Nintendo. Il interprète également d'autres personnages, comme Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Bébé Mario, Bébé Luigi et Papy Champi. Il parle couramment anglais, français et espagnol, mais, paradoxalement, alors que le personnage de Mario est un plombier italien, Charles Martinet ne maîtrise pas l'italien.

Biographie

Martinet is of French descent and speaks fluent French and Spanish. His family moved to Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain when he was 12 years old, and later his family moved to Paris, France. He attended the American School of Paris and graduated in 1974.

Martinet attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he originally intended to study international law. His senior year, he decided to discontinue his studies after a tutor told him to "regurgitate information he'd written in his book, chapter-by-chapter". A friend suggested him to take acting classes to combat his fear of public speaking. His first role was a monologue from the Spoon River Anthology. Eventually, Martinet earned an apprenticeship at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. After training with the Berkeley Rep for several years, Martinet went to London to attended the Drama Studio London, where among other skills, he discovered his talent for accents and dialects. Upon returning to California he joined the Berkeley Reparatory Theatre. He went on to become a founding member of the San Jose Repertory Theatre for four years.