"Afghani says he's a long-time fan who spent a lot of his life "mimicking" Martinet's Mario and Luigi performances, so these characters are "important" to him, and he views taking on the job as carrying them on so they can "keep being important to other people." "I couldn't explain to you how important these characters have been to me my entire life," he said."
""I'm a really jokey person, and I'm a really silly person. But there's just a part of me that can't help but get teary-eyed when I talk about this." Though Martinet's last credit as Mario was in 2022's Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope , he did have a small cameo in The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023 as Mario's dad."
Kevin Afghani assumed the voice roles of Mario, Luigi, and Wario in 2023 after Charles Martinet stepped back to become a Mario Ambassador. Afghani expressed deep respect for Martinet, calling him the definitive voice and saying he felt nervous and honored to follow him. Afghani described himself as a long-time fan who mimicked Martinet's performances and framed the role as carrying the characters so they remain important to others. Afghani becomes emotional discussing the characters and is appearing at Charlie's Comic Con in Florida. Martinet's last credited Mario role was in 2022's Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and he had a 2023 cameo as Mario's dad, while still occasionally performing the voice for fans without improvising dialogue.
Read at Kotaku
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